SINGAPORE: As of January, Singapore Airlines (SIA) will resume flights to Dubai, Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Moscow and Munich, the carrier said on Friday (Dec 18).
SIA said in a Facebook post that adjustments would also be made to the flight schedules for its SilkAir regional wing and Scoot budget carrier.
“The changes are part of a “detailed analysis” to decide which airlines are “better suited to meet changing customer and cargo demand” in the SIA Group portfolio, it said.
[Update 67] Covid-19: Singapore Airlines and SilkAir Flight Schedules – December 2020 to March 2021: https://t.co/kC5IJCSEZB
— Singapore Airlines (@SingaporeAir) December 18, 2020
As a result of these improvements, the passenger capacity of the Group is projected to hit approximately 25% of its pre-COVID-19 level by the end of March next year.
The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, due to border restrictions and lockdowns around the world, has battered the SIA Community. The company has introduced pay cuts around the board and retrenched thousands of workers.
Last month, in the midst of a “sharp drop” in passenger traffic, the group posted a first-half net loss of S$3.5 billion.
Total passenger transport in November was 97.7% year-on-year as announced on Tuesday.
The group looks forward to a ‘gradual recovery’ in passenger operations as countries and regions are finding ways to reopen borders safely, with sufficient protocols in place, it added on Tuesday.
Developments in vaccine development and distribution also foster ‘increasing optimism’ about the possible recovery of air travel, the group said.
SIA said earlier this month that when they became available, it will prioritize cargo ability to transport COVID-19 vaccines.
Flights originally scheduled for December until March but not specified in the flight schedules will be cancelled and the cancellations will be notified to customers through SMS and email, SIA said.
Customers will keep the full value of the unused part of their tickets as travel credits on the canceled flights, the carrier said. When they rebook their flights, bonus flight credits will also be awarded.
Brunei, Fukuoka, New York and Shenzhen were previously added by SIA to its network, bringing its total to 36 cities, while Kathmandu was added to its list of destinations by SilkAir.