SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) reported weaker performance for its passenger business in June, when load factor and number of passengers carried declined compared to the same period a year ago.
The carrier flew 1.58 million passengers last month, down 0.9 per cent year-on-year, while load factor - which indicates revenue efficiency per seat capacity - slid to 79.9 per cent from 81.5 per cent a year ago, SIA data filed on Singapore Exchange on Wednesday showed.
Load factor for routes to East Asia, Americas and Europe all dropped due to weaker demand and competitive pressure, SIA said.
"Passenger demand to East Asia was also adversely affected by the outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in Korea," the data said.
In its cargo business, SIA also carried 0.6 per cent less freight compared to last year, with cargo load factor dropping from 62.7 per cent in June 2014 to 60.3 per cent last month. Weaker demand on European routes and lower outbound demand from Americas were the key factors.
Meanwhile, SIA's subsidiary SilkAir carried 8.1 per cent more passengers last month compared to a year ago, but passenger load factor drop from 72.7 per cent to 72.3 per cent last month. The decline came as the short-to-mid haul carrier expanded its capacity by 10.2 per cent year-on-year.
Low-cost unit Scoot had a good month, with its load factor rising from 81.3 per cent to 82.6 per cent even as capacity grew 7.9 per cent year-on-year.
But Tigerair's dismal form continued in June, when its number of carried passengers dropped 9.7 per cent year-on-year to 439,000. Load factor dropped 1.3 percentage points to 85 per cent, despite an 8.9 per cent year-on-year drop in capacity.
"The competitive landscape continues to be challenging. SIA will remain nimble to redeploy capacity to better match market demand, and promotional activities will continue in relevant markets," SIA said.
