SIA cuts services to U.S., Japan, Australia

SIA cuts services to U.S., Japan, Australia

Agence France-Presse, Singapore

Singapore Airlines (SIA) on Tuesday announced cuts to its services to Australia, Japan, Taiwan and the United States as a result of the global aviation slowdown and approaching winter months.

The airline, which incurred a massive 88.2 percent drop in group net profit in the half year to September, said its combined seating capacity to the US will be cut by 20 percent and Japan slashed by 13 percent from January 13 to April next year.

Weekly services to Taipei will be reduced from 22 to 18 from Nov. 13 and flights to Perth, Australia downgraded from 21 to 18 a week from January 3 to March 30, 2002, it said in a statement.

The schedule changes for the US and Japan were made "in view of the present market conditions coupled with the approach of the off-peak Northern Winter season" and "to better match expected demand," the carrier said.

A global terrorism scare following the September 11 suicide attacks on the United States has crippled the international aviation and travel industries.

SIA said its in-flight e-mail service will also be discontinued, seven months after it began trials on one of its planes.

"The decision was taken after Tenzing, the owner of the software, said it would be reviewing its development plans in light of the prevailing economic situation," the carrier said.

In the US route, flights to Chicago will be suspended and services to Los Angeles and San Francisco will be reduced from seven to five a week.

Flights to Japanese cities Nagoya, Fukuoka and Hiroshima will also be scaled back from January. Osaka-bound flights will "undergo a staggered reduction in frequency" from 20 to 15 per week starting next Tuesday.

SIA said however that 25 extra flights were scheduled to Australia and New Zealand in December "to cater to the peak demand."

The carrier's group net profit plunged to S$134.8 million (US$74.9 million) in the six months to September and company officials said it will defer aircraft deliveries as it cuts cost.

"These are the most difficult conditions that the SIA Group has ever had to face, and maintaining its loss-free record this (current financial year) year will be a challenge," the company said in announcing the earnings loss last month.