NATIONAL carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost arm Scoot carried a total of 3.6 million passengers in December, a monthly record for the SIA group.
This was up 7.1 per cent from the year before, based on the group’s monthly operation update, released after the market closed on Wednesday (Jan 15).
For the whole of 2024, total passenger carriage stood at 39 million, 21.7 per cent higher than the 34.6 million in 2023.
In particular, SIA carried 3.4 million passengers in December, up 9.6 per cent from 2.2 million in the year-ago period. Scoot’s passengers stood at 1.1 million, up 2.3 per cent.
The two carriers’ passenger traffic, which measures the demand for an airline’s service and is derived by multiplying the number of paying passengers by the distance they have travelled, was up 6 per cent in December on the year.
Passenger capacity, measured by multiplying the number of seats available on a flight by the distance flown, grew 7.1 per cent in December on the year.
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In the last month of 2024, cargo loads by the group rose 13.6 per cent year on year, outpacing the 11.3 per cent expansion in cargo capacity, the group noted.
SIA explained: “In addition to the traditional year-end demand, the higher loads were driven by a boost in perishables traffic, with China lifting its ban on Australian live rock lobster imports, and strong demand ahead of the Lunar New Year period.”
At the end of December 2024, the group’s passenger network covered 129 destinations in 36 countries and territories. SIA served 80 destinations, and Scoot served 72. The cargo network comprised 133 destinations in 37 countries and territories.
Shares of closed flat at S$6.27 on Wednesday, before the announcement.
