SIA Group logs 8.6% growth in January passenger traffic on Chinese New Year travel rush

NATIONAL carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its low-cost arm Scoot carried more passengers and cargo in January 2025 than the same period a year ago, SIA Group’s latest operating update released on Monday (Feb 17) indicated.

Last month, group passenger traffic rose 8.6 per cent year on year, outpacing a capacity increase of 5.5 per cent, on the back of robust travel demand supported by the Chinese New Year holiday season, said the monthly note released after market close.

Passenger traffic, which measures the demand for an airline’s service and is derived by multiplying the number of paying passengers by the distance they travelled, came in at 13.7 billion for the month, compared with 12.6 billion a year ago.

SIA carried 2.4 million passengers in January 2025, up from 2.1 million in the same period last year. Scoot ferried 1.2 million passengers last month, up from 1.1 million in the corresponding period in the prior year.

The combined passenger carriage was 9.1 per cent higher at 3.5 million.

Group passenger capacity, measured by multiplying the number of seats available on a flight by the distance flown, grew 5.5 per cent in January on the year.

Cargo growth

Cargo loads grew 2.6 per cent year on year, tracking below the 9.5 per cent expansion in cargo capacity.

“Inventory stocking was less pronounced ahead of the holiday period, leading to relatively subdued cargo demand, with the consequent factory closures during the period further reducing cargo movement,” said the group.

As a result, the cargo load factor – referring to the cargo and mail load expressed as a percentage of the gross capacity – was 3.4 percentage points lower at 51.1 per cent, compared with 54.5 per cent in the same period a year ago.

At the end of January, the group’s passenger network spanned 131 destinations in 36 countries and territories.

SIA served 80 destinations, and Scoot – which launched passenger services to Indonesia’s Padang and China’s Shantou during the month – served 74 destinations.

The cargo network covered 135 destinations in 37 countries and territories.

For the second quarter ended Sep 30, 2024, the group’s net profit dived 59 per cent to S$290 million from S$707 million in the corresponding period the previous year, despite revenue for the period inching up.

The bleaker profit print was mainly due to weaker operating performance, lower net interest income and loss on disposal of aircraft, spares and spare engines versus a gain the year before.

Financials for the third quarter are expected on Thursday.

Shares of SIA rose S$0.04 or 0.6 per cent to close at S$6.42 on Monday.