Singapore Airlines Ltd, Asia's biggest carrier by market value, had a fiscal first-quarter profit -- compared with its first loss a year earlier -- as passenger and cargo loads rose and the company made money on foreign exchange.
Net income in the three months ended June 30 was 259 million Singapore dollars (US$151 million), or S$0.21 a share, from a loss of S$312 million, or S$0.26 a share, a year earlier. Sales rose to S$2.72 billion.
Singapore Airlines is attracting more passengers as tourists and business travelers returned to the Southeast Asian region after the SARS outbreak emptied flights last year.
The Singapore economy's 9.1 percent growth in the quarter that ended in June also helped.
Airlines may break even on international routes and their traffic may rise by more than 10 percent this year, exceeding earlier forecasts, as economic growth accelerates, the International Air Transport Association said this week.
Singapore's June tourist arrivals more than doubled year on year to 686,597, boosted by travelers from Indonesia, China and India, according a statement from the Singapore Tourism Board.
Still, the record prices of jet fuel and the increased competition from budget carriers in the region could slow down the pace of recovery of Singapore Airlines, said Mark Tan, an analyst at UOB Asset Management Ltd in Singapore, which manages S$10 billion in assets.
"Fuel is definitely a medium-term issue while competition from low-cost carriers will become a major issue in the future," Tan said.
Crude oil futures rose to their highest in more than two decades of New York trading on concern that supply from the world's top producers will be disrupted.
Fuel normally accounts for about one-fifth of the airline's costs, analysts such as Tan said.
Singapore Airlines will face challenges from budding discount carriers such as Thai AirAsia and others.
"Competition will intensify on some Southeast Asian routes and yields will come under pressure," the airline said in the statement.
To compete, Singapore Airlines is seeking to expand its number of destinations and boost frequency to existing cities.
The airline plans to raise frequency to cities such as Melbourne, Brisbane, Beijing, Guangzhou and Hanoi. The airline will start a new service to Amritsar in northern India, the statement said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from