Singapore Airlines (SIA) is looking to add capacity to its Australian and New Zealand services starting next year.
Despite strong performance in these regions, SIA's total seat count actually fell in 2015 as a result of introducing premium economy, which led to the shaving of the economy cabin.
The A380 that SIA deploys on the Singapore–Sydney route used to feature a three-class configuration, 399 seats in economy, 60 in business and 12 in Suites. With the installation of 36 seats in premium economy, the number of economy seats on the superjumbo has fallen to 333. Overall, this has meant seat capacity fell by over six per cent.
An increase in capacity would follow an industry trend to increase services to the Pacific nations. According to a Goldman Sachs report, initial scheduling data for flights to the Antipodes between January and June 2016 suggest that international carriers in general are likely to boost capacity by 6.5 per cent, a one per cent boost over the same time this year.
SIA regional vice-president Southwest Pacific Tiow Kor Tan told the Sydney Morning Herald that the bulk of capacity additions next year would focus on Australia rather than New Zealand.
“We have invested a lot in Australia," said Tan. "Capacity-wise I think the whole group [including Silk Air and Scoot] is the second biggest into Australia after Qantas."
Possible plans could include operating five daily flights on both the Singapore–Sydney and Singapore–Melbourne routes – up from the existing four. Alternatively, the Star Alliance member may consider deploying its A380 on the Melbourne route, currently served by a mixed fleet of B777-300ER, B777-300 and A330-300 aircraft.
Tan remains uncertain on whether the airline’s highly anticipated A350 aircraft would be making its way down under. SIA does not consider Australia to be a long-haul destination, and therefore tends to deploy its regional products on flights to the country. Given that the first batch of A350s will come with long-haul seats, Australia wouldn’t be a logical pick for the fuel-efficient aircraft.
“The planners think there may be a possibility of one aircraft to come to Australia," he said. "But this is only on a planning basis if they use the B777 for other things and put the A350 here. We officially don't want to announce that yet unless we are certain it is coming."
SIA is also looking to improve the service offering of its four-daily flights to Brisbane. A new lounge at Brisbane Airport is slated to open in the Q1 2016, while the airline is also looking into replacing the existing angle-flat business class seats on the A330s serving the route with flatbed seats.
For more information, visit singaporeair.com
Clement Huang
