The Hindu Business Line : `Scope for airline industry expansion in India, China'

BUOYANT Indian and Chinese economies offer immense scope for expansion for the airline industry and Singapore Airlines will continue to explore new opportunities, according to its Chairman, Mr Koh Boon Hwee.

Speaking to newspersons on the sidelines of Four Soft Ltd's press conference, where Mr Hwee is a board member, he said Singapore Airlines is in the process of launching direct flights between Singapore and Hyderabad later this month. This would mean that the flights of its regional airliner, Silk Air would be discontinued to Hyderabad.

"The growth of the Indian economy, particularly driven by sectors like IT and Telecom, presents more scope for growth. Singapore Airlines currently operates flights to 12 Indian cities and we continue to look to expand our presence wherever there is scope," he said.

"As a part of expansion of Singapore Airline itself, we have sought for request for proposals from aircraft companies that would help us look to more flights," he said.

Asked if it would like to invest in some of the domestic airlines, Mr Hwee said "the company is always open to new investment opportunities. If one presents, they would not hesitate to look at it. Having said that, most domestic airline industries do not allow foreign holdings. But if they do so, we will look at it keenly."

"There is no possibility of making Hyderabad as a hub to offer fights to other parts of the globe, particularly Europe. Typically, trends point that most travellers prefer point-to-point flight and do not like more stops. This means, that direct flights are preferred to hop and fly options," he said.

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