Singapore faces the biggest challenge of its time. In an early 2020 staff memo, Goh Choon Phong, the CEO of Singapore Airlines, characterized the COVID-19 pandemic in this way.
That year, a once-in-a-generation event devastated the aviation industry, forcing the national carrier and other airlines around the world to ground flights, impose steep pay cuts, and, ultimately, furlough staff.
But after more than four years, this severe challenge seems to be handled expertly.
Singapore’s airline industry, which includes low-cost carriers Scoot and Jetstar Asia and SIA, is now singing a different tune as the demand for air travel is surging back with a vengeance.
Following the pandemic, which resulted in its first-ever full-year loss, SIA announced in May that it had made a record profit of S$2.68 billion (US$1.99 billion) for the fiscal year that ended in March 2024. The prize? a staff bonus equivalent to nearly eight months’ pay.
For Scoot, signs of growth were evident when it received the first two of nine Embraer aircraft in April, with CEO Leslie Thng noting that this “reflects our confidence in the demand for air travel”.
Jetstar Asia, meanwhile, expects passenger capacity to exceed pre-COVID levels by the end of 2024. A spokesperson told CNA the airline will continue to focus on expanding its network of routes, increasing fleet numbers and recruiting more manpower.
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