SIA Group has posted a record first-quarter operating profit of $556 million, which was also the second-highest quarterly profit in its history. This came as the demand for air travel rose sharply after Singapore fully opened its borders to vaccinated travellers in April 2022.
SIA and Scoot carried 5.1 million passengers during the quarter – up 158.2% from the previous quarter and fourteen-fold higher than a year before. Passenger traffic and load factors were robust across all cabin classes and travel segments, as well as all regions except East Asia where border restrictions remain in certain markets. SIA’s quarterly revenue per available seat-kilometre was 10.2 cents, a record for the full-service airline.
Passenger flown revenue rose SG$1,456 million (+119.3%) quarter-on-quarter to SG$2,676 million on the back of a 126.7% growth in traffic. Passenger load factor rose 34.1% points to 79.0%, the highest since the onset of the pandemic, as the traffic growth outpaced the capacity expansion of 28.9%.
Cargo flown revenue fell SG$17 million (-1.5%) to $1,096 million, as the demand for air freight dropped due to pandemic-related lock-downs in China. The decline in cargo loads (-3.6%) was mitigated by higher yields (+2.2%), amid capacity constraints on key lanes especially between Asia and Europe. Consequently, Group revenue rose SG$1,439 million (+58.2%) to SG$3,911 million. (£1.00 = SG$1.67 at time of publication).
