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Singapore Airlines is looking to add 10 more flights a week – across five existing cities – for the December-January period this fiscal. Additions will be temporary in nature catering specifically to the northern winter schedule.
The airline currently operates 96 flights a week across 11 cities in the country, through the Singapore Airlines and SilkAir brands.
In Kolkata to celebrate 30 years of operations here, David Lim, General Manager (India) of Singapore Airlines, spoke to BusinessLine about the way forward for the carrier here. Excerpts:
How has growth been for the carrier in India?
We have seen double-digit growth over the last five years. We are pretty happy with the demand between India and Singapore, as well as Asia. We are quite optimistic about the Indian market.
How has occupancy been for your flights?
We witness nearly 80 per cent occupancy (load factor) across the system.
Where does India stand in terms of contribution to revenue?
India is amongst the top 10 markets. I guess India will leapfrog some other countries to become more important.
How important is India for the carrier?
It is strategically a very important market for the Singapore Airlines group. If you see, Singapore Airlines has been placing a lot of efforts in India; just by the sheer volume of flights that we operate. There are not many countries that Singapore Airlines flies to so many times. From that perspective, you can see the importance (of India). This apart, we have also invested in Vistara.
Has India been a profitable market?
We do not divulge if any route is profitable or not. But when you see the airlineincreasing routes and frequencies, then it should be profitable. You do not want to increase frequency when you are losing money.
So what are the new routes/frequencies?
For the peak winter season (or northern winter schedule) we will add 10 more flights, taking the total number of weekly flights to 106. Flights will be from the five existing cities that include Mumbai and Ahmedabad in west India and Hyderabad, Coimbatore and Kochi in the south. From Ahmedabad and Mumbai, there will be wide body flights; while in south India it will be narrow body ones.
What is your take on the company’s investment in Vistara?
We own 49 per cent in Vistara. Currently, Vistara is only operating in the domestic circuit. It serves as a good feeder for us. And when it goes international, it will strengthen the Singapore Airlines offerings via India.
Do you see the need for increased regional connectivity in India?
Yes we support that. If there’s more regional connectivity; (then) that helps our flights.
How have business class and premium economy seats grown for Singapore Airlines?
Over the years , our (seat) configuration has grown in terms of having more premium class seats in India. One year ago, we deployed a premium economy cabin product to Delhi and Mumbai routes. Because we needed to have a premium economy product, we had to reduce economy seat capacity. So you can safely say we can are looking at premium products.
We also give better services for the premium economy categories. Currently, 14 of our 96 flights have the premium economy configurations.
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