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SINGAPORE Airlines has succumbed to the aviation slump and will severely reduce services to 21 cities around the globe. The airline said today the global economic slowdown had forced the decision, which will involve cutting operating capacity by 11 per cent by the end of March.
SIA’s existing services from Sydney, Brisbane and Perth will be severely reduced. The airline will next month cut 19 return flights a week from the Singapore-Australia route. It has also flagged the possibility of further cuts affecting flights from Brisbane and Perth, suggesting that services from both cities will operate on variable frequencies depending on the travel season.
The reductions come just 24 hours after Qantas and Virgin Blue responded to falling profits with route cuts and job losses. Yesterday Qantas revealed it was replacing its restructuring its New Zealand domestic services by replacing its Jetconnect subsidiary with its low-cost Jetstar brand.
Virgin Blue which followed up by announcing that it would sack 400 workers, also intends to ground five of its 76 aicraft. SIA’s reductions will take affect on March 29, and will last at least 12 months, the airline said today. A statement issued by the airline hinted that more cuts could follow.
"Going forward, Singapore Airlines will continue to monitor demand patterns and will make changes to its network when necessary,” the company noted. Apart from the cuts that will be made to Singapore-Australia services, SIA also intends to replace its 747 jumbos that operate daily to London with twin-jet Boeing 777s, cutting 97 seats a day off the route.
The other UK service to Manchester will be reduced from five flights a week to three. One flight a week will be cut from the Singapore-Rome route, reducing the number of return flights to just two. North American services via Seoul will be similarly affected, with Newark and Los Angeles each cut by two a week to five.
The 747 jumbo, which flies daily between Singapore and San Francisco via Hong Kong, will be withdrawn and replaced by a 777 jetliner, cutting 97 seats a day from the service. Other services to Japan, China and West Asian destinations will also be affected by the reductions.
source: www.news.com.au
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