SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) group posted a 15.8 per cent increase in passenger traffic in December during the year-end peak travel season.

For SIA itself, revenue passenger kilometres, which indicates the number of passengers carried multiplied by the distance flown, rose 15 per cent to 10.1 billion in December 2023 from 8.8 billion in December 2022. For Scoot, the group’s low-cost arm, revenue passenger-km climbed 18.5 per cent to three billion from 2.5 billion.

Group passenger capacity outpaced passenger traffic at 16.1 per cent, resulting in a passenger load factor (PLF) of 89.4 per cent, 0.3 percentage points lower than the previous year. PLF is expressed as a percentage of available seat-km.

SIA’s December 2023 PLF was 88.7 per cent, 0.4 percentage points lower than 89.1 per cent in the previous year. Scoot’s December 2023 PLF was 91.7 per cent, a 10 percentage point increase from 91.6 per cent in the year before.

The two airlines carried a combined 3.3 million passengers during December, up 24.4 per cent from a year ago.

Cargo carriage grew 4.3 per cent year-on-year on the back of stronger e-commerce demand. However, increased passenger services have resulted in higher bellyhold capacity, resulting in a cargo load factor of 52.6 per cent in December 2023, 1.7 percentage points lower than the previous year.

SIA’s passenger network covers 121 destinations in 35 countries and territories as at Dec 31, 2023. SIA resumed services to Xiamen, China, in December 2023, and served 76 destinations, while Scoot served 67 destinations.

The group’s cargo network served 126 destinations in 37 countries and territories in the same period.

Shares of SIA closed flat at $6.53 on Jan 16. THE BUSINESS TIMES