Singapore narrows cargo losses

Singapore Airlines’ cargo division (SIA Cargo) narrowed its operating loss from $34m to $12m in the first half of the financial year from April to September.
Cargo yield declined by 8.5% during the six month period, largely due to lower fuel surcharges, while freight carriage was “flat”, resulting in lower revenue, down by $86m. This was offset by a $108m reduction in expenditure, mainly from lower fuel costs.
In the second quarter from July to September, SIA Cargo’s freight carriage (in load tonne-kilometres) was almost flat (+0.1%) year-on-year, while capacity grew by 2.6%. As a result, the load factor fell 1.5 percentage points to 60.7%.
The size of SIA Cargo’s fleet, comprising eight Boeing 747-400 freighters, remained unchanged in the second quarter.
SIA Cargo will increase frequency to points in the Americas, Europe, South West Pacific and North Asia in the third quarter to meet higher demand during the year-end peak period.
In its outlook, SIA said: Uncertainty in economic conditions persists, exacerbated by concerns about China’s slowing economy, which have led to weakening emerging-market currencies and volatility in stock markets. The outlook for both passenger and cargo traffic is cautious.”