The season of airline results is around the corner, and this year, the strong return of travel, clubbed with strong fares, has meant that airlines have been able to post strong results. We saw this with Emirates, which posted very strong results for the financial year 2022-23. Now, we see the same trend with Singapore Airlines.

SIA Group posts the highest profit in their history

At the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, SIA Group acted swiftly and decisively to shore up liquidity and build its financial resilience. This strong liquidity position, and the confidence it engendered, enabled the Group to take a long-term view and make several strategic decisions ahead of the recovery in global air travel, says the airline.

SIA and Scoot retained most of their staff, and a large proportion of the Group’s aircraft fleet was kept operational, albeit at low utilisation levels in the early phase of the recovery, ensuring that they were properly maintained and fully functional. The Group built up a strong base network in a calibrated manner, ensuring that SIA and Scoot could ramp up ahead of any return in passenger traffic.

When demand for air travel surged in 2022-23, after Singapore fully reopened its borders in April 2022, and as restrictions on international air travel eased globally, SIA and Scoot could ramp up operations at short notice.

SIA and Scoot collectively carried 26.5 million passengers, up six times from a year before. The passenger load factor (PLF) jumped 55.3 percentage points to 85.4%, the highest in the Group’s history. SIA achieved a record PLF of 85.8%, while Scoot delivered a PLF of 83.9%.

SIA Group’s operating profit reached a record SGD 2.69 billion (USD 2 Billion), reversing the SGD 610 million (USD 454 million) loss in 2021-22. Operating profit for Singapore Airlines per se was a record SGD 2.6 billion (USD 1.94 billion), an increase of SGD 2.7 billion (USD 2.02 billion) from the previous financial year. Scoot achieved a record operating profit of SGD 148 million (USD 110 million), up SGD 602 million (USD 448 million) from 2021-22.

Singapore Airlines Fleet Development

SIA took delivery of one Airbus A350-900 in March 2023 and one Boeing 787-10 in April 2023. These aircraft have since joined the operating fleet, alongside one 737-8 aircraft post the retrofit of its cabin.

As of March 2023, the Group had 195 aircraft in its operating fleet comprising 188 passenger aircraft and seven freighters. SIA’s operational fleet included 133 aircraft and seven freighters, while Scoot had 55 aircraft. With an average age of six years and nine months, the Group fleet is one of the youngest and most fuel-efficient in the airline industry.

SIA Group recently agreed with Boeing to adjust its aircraft order book. This includes swapping three 787-9s for three 787-10s and cancelling eight 737-8s. These adjustments are in line with the Group’s long-term fleet renewal strategy and support its projected operational requirements. Following these adjustments, the Group has 100 aircraft in its order book. 

Bottomline

Singapore Airlines and the group have seen a record year of profitability on the back of the return of travel and skyrocketing fares. The group posted USD 2 Billion in profits, with SIA itself posting USD 1.94 Billion in profit from the whole amount.  The airline also saw a record Passenger Load Factor of 85.8% during the year.

What do you make of Singapore Airlines/Group profits for the last financial year?

---

Liked our articles and our efforts? Please pay an amount you are comfortable with; an amount you believe is the fair price for the content you have consumed. Please enter an amount in the box below and click on the button to pay; you can use Netbanking, Debit/Credit Cards, UPI, QR codes, or any Wallet to pay. Every contribution helps cover the cost of the content generated for your benefit.

(Important: to receive confirmation and details of your transaction, please enter a valid email address in the pop-up form that will appear after you click the ‘Pay Now’ button. For international transactions, use Paypal to process the transaction.)

We are not putting our articles behind any paywall where you are asked to pay before you read an article. We are asking you to pay after you have read the article if you are satisfied with the quality and our efforts.