Singapore Airlines Cargo (SIA Cargo) cut its operating loss for the 2013-14 financial year to SGD100 million (US$79.8 million) from the SGD167 million loss it incurred the previous financial year as it worked to address the issue of overcapacity.
The group reported an impairment of SGD293 million on four surplus freighters removed from the fleet and put on sale in the financial year ended March.
It also handled financial one-offs concerning settlements between SIA Cargo and complainants in the U.S. air cargo and Australian air cargo class suits.
A group-wide gain of SGD372 million with the sale of Virgin Atlantic to Delta Air Lines helped to mitigate these write-offs.
SIA Cargo’s load factor of 62.5 percent was 0.9 percentage point lower, as the carrier saw a 5.1 percent fall in load tonne-kilometer against a 3.6 percent cut in cargo capacity.
The cargo airline will return one B747-400F whose lease expires this month, so that its fleet of operating freighters in the current financial year comes down to eight.
Looking ahead, SIA, one of Asia’s biggest airlines, said that cargo yield is “expected to remain weak as the air cargo industry continues to face challenges from overcapacity.”
SIA Cargo also announced the appointment of Chin Yau Seng as its new president effective May 12. Mr. Chin took over from Mr. Lee Lik Hsin, who has been granted a leave of absence from the SIA group to join Tiger Airways as CEO.
Chin was Singapore Airlines’ senior vice president of sales and marketing prior to his new post. He joined SIA in 1995 and has served in various positions in the head office and overseas, including London and Athens.
He was chief executive of wholly owned subsidiary SilkAir between 2007 and 2010 when he returned to SIA as divisional vice president of cabin crew operations. Between July 2011 and September 2012 he was on a leave of absence from SIA to serve as executive director and, subsequently, CEO of Tiger Airways. He returned to SIA to head the sales and marketing division in October 2012.
Photo: Aero Icarus
