Singapore Airlines cuts 670 flights from March to May amid coronavirus outbreak

The move affects 96 routes, including to Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and Sydney
Affected passengers will be reaccommodated onto other flights, the airline says

Coronavirus Singapore

Danny LeeandReuters

Published: 11:58am, 18 Feb 2020

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Singapore Airlines on Tuesday says it will temporarily cut flights across its global network in March, April and May due to weaker demand as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.

Destinations that are among those with services reduced include Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Jakarta, Sydney and Mumbai, the airline said on its website.

“Affected customers will be notified and reaccommodated onto other flights,” the airline said.

The move cuts 670 flights across 96 routes from March through until May, with Japan and South Korea flights the most affected.

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The airline had already announced major cuts to flights to mainland China and Hong Kong.

“It’s not a surprise to see some cuts in flights, given the weak forward bookings that can be expected from the current environment,” said DBS analyst Paul Yong.

Demand on flights to South Korea and Japan had been hit hardest after China, Yong quoted Singapore Airlines’ management team as having told analysts at a results briefing on Monday.

Those were the areas of the biggest cutbacks in Tuesday’s announcement.

Tourists in protective masks at the Jewel Changi Airport mall in Singapore. Photo: EPA-EFE

With at least 77 coronavirus cases, Singapore has one of the highest outside mainland China, where more than 1,800 people have been killed in the epidemic.

Last week, the Asian tourism and travel hub said it expected visitor numbers to drop by a quarter or more this year, hit by the virus outbreak.

K Ajith, director of Asia Transportation Research at brokerage UOB Kay Hian, said Singapore Air’s (SIA) management expressed an “urgent need to preserve cash” during its briefing with analysts, in a similar alarm sounded by Cathay only weeks ago.

“Given a choice between having to ground and park aircraft, SIA took the option of just reducing utilisation [of aircraft] and save [on] manpower, catering and fuel cost,” the Singapore-based analyst said.

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As a bellwether for other major Asian airlines, the length of the flight reductions because of weak travel demand could also concern Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, which earlier this month took drastic action to scale back its flights, including eliminating the bulk of its mainland China network.

On Monday, Cathay said it would “likely” extend its flight cuts into April, after making reductions to more than half of its flights in February and March. Based on Singapore Air’s actions, it signals Cathay may need to keep cutting flights in May.

Hong Kong’s flagship airline also issued its third profit warning in little over six months as the twin effects of the coronavirus and several months of anti-government protests have undermined the company’s financial performance.

A fortnight ago, Cathay Pacific’s CEO appealed to all 27,000 staff members to take three weeks of unpaid leave between the start of March and the end of June.

Hometown rival Hong Kong Airlines is in worse shape. The HNA-backed airline is cutting 400 jobs and forcing staff to choose between working part time or taking unpaid leave for a total of two months from mid-February until the end of June.

South Korea’s Asiana Airlines also asked cabin crew last week to take unpaid leave until the end of February after scaling back its China flights.

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