The Hindu Business Line : Singapore Airlines to introduce measures to shed weight

NEW DELHI: Next time you take to the sky on board a Singapore Airlines flight, you may not get an in- flight magazine or you may find a 'lighter' newspaper with fewer pages.

With jet fuel costs almost tripling since year 2000 and accounting for over 40 per cent of operating cost, Singapore Airlines, like many other airlines across the globe, is initiating desperate measures to shed aircraft weight and cut soaring fuel bills.

“We are exploring many innovative ways to shed weight of the aircraft and cut fuel expenses that could include taking out the non-relevant pages of the newspapers like the classified section and doing away with shopping catalogues and in-flight magazine, '' Singapore Airlines General Manager in India, Mr C W Foo said.

The in-flight magazine would now onwards be available on the audio-visual monitor and passengers can browse it to read the magazine. Singapore Airlines, which hedges between 30 to 60 per cent of its fuel needs, is also looking at “reducing the wastage and trying not to over carry too many meals'' as removing the extra weight will help the carrier shave off the fuel expenditure, Mr Foo told PTI.

He said as part of the cost cutting measures, the airline, has introduced lighter seats without mechanical motors on its new Boeing 777-300 ER on New Delhi-Singapore and Mumbai- Singapore routes.

The carrier last week announced the commencement of double daily flights from New Delhi to Singapore, up from the current nine flights to 14 a week. The new service comes into effect from September one. - PTI

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