Singapore Airlines says it’s planning on boosting capacity to Australia and New Zealand by up to seven percent next year after slightly lowering its seat count in 2015.
South West Pacific Regional Vice President, Mr Tiow Kor Tan, told KarryOn the decision comes after the carrier saw its load factor rise to an average of 86 percent since April this year – up five percentage points on the previous year.
He said the increase indicated strong interest for the two countries because it came despite a weaker Australian and New Zealand dollar.
“We have experienced good load factors in 2015, which is why we are currently reviewing our services for 2016.”
Tiow Kor Tan, Singapore Airlines Vice President of the South West Pacific
“The review is looking at the possibility of increasing capacity by seven percent to the South West Pacific region in 2016.
He continued, explaining that the makeup of the seven percent is still to be determined, however it is likely that the majority will be in the Australian market.
“It is too early to announce whether the increase will be in the form of additional services, larger aircraft or a mix of both,” he added.
Sydney and Melbourne could be the recipients of extra capacity, with a fifth, daily Sydney-Singapore flight or a fifth, daily Melbourne-Singapore service.
Brisbane may also be up for additional services to compliment the carrier’s new lounge scheduled to open at Brisbane Airport early next year.
“We have invested a lot in Australia. Capacity-wise I think the whole group is the second biggest into Australia after Qantas,” he added.
As well as adding capacity, Singapore Airlines recently upgraded its products to Australia by introducing Premium Economy aboard its A380 flights from Sydney.
Earlier this year, the airline also resumed services from Perth, with five-times weekly Boeing 737 flights carrying more than 1,700 people.
Other airlines also believed to be increasing services to Australia next year include Emirates, Etihad, All Nippon Airways and Xiamen Air.
