SIA

SIA: Operating results for Jan. Cargo traffic fell sharply.

For Jan 2012, carriage grew 2.4% yoy while capacity grew by 3.8%. Carriage growth slowed slightly from Dec’s +3.2% though still an improvement. As a result, passenger load factor declined 1.1% points to 77.0%. The number of passengers carried increased by 1.7% over the same period the previous year.Except for Americas and Europe, PLF generally weakened due to capacity increases. PLF declined in the West Asia and Africa region due to softer demand.

SilkAir’s carriage increased 13.2% yoy against 13.7% growth in capacity. As a result, PLF declined by 0.3% points to 76.2%. PLF on West Asia routes declined as traffic lagged capacity increases. The PLF on East Asia routes increased by 1.0% point, due to increased demand over the Lunar New Year
period.

Cargo traffic was 12.8% lower yoy while cargo capacity decreased by 8.5%. Compared to last mth numbers, traffic had a steep fall against a 1.5% increase in Dec. Load factor in Jan 2012 decreased by 2.9% points. All regions were affected by the seasonal slowing of airfreight activities due to the Lunar New Year holidays which was in Jan this year compared to Feb in 2011.