SINGAPORE – Travellers at Changi Airport can expect more flights to popular destinations in the region, as airlines ramp up for the annual peak travel season.
About 90 new flights, offering more than 8,000 weekly one-way seats, will be added from Singapore to 10 cities across Asia from now until the end of the year.
About two-thirds of the capacity growth is on routes to China and India, Changi Airport Group said.
Cities with more flights to be added include Dalian, Fuzhou and Xiamen in China, as well as Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai in India.
There will be more flights to Luang Prabang in Laos, Yangon in Myanmar and Cebu in the Philippines too.
While flights to and from Changi will increase in the coming months, South-east Asia as a region will see a marginal 3 per cent drop in flight numbers, according to data compiled by industry consultancy OAG.
Globally, the numbers are expected to remain flat, it said.
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With the new services, the number of weekly scheduled flights at Changi is expected to cross 7,000, for the first time, by the end of the year.
The numbers are based on schedules pre-filed by carriers for what is known as the Northern Winter season which started last week and ends in March.
Changi’s managing director (air hub development) Lim Ching Kiat told The Straits Times: “Building on the healthy momentum of intra-Asia travel, which has been driving Changi Airport’s passenger traffic growth so far this year, we are pleased to see the strengthening of our network to Asia in the coming weeks.”
Changi will continue to support airlines in their growth plans so that passengers can enjoy more varied and convenient flight options, “augmenting Singapore’s position as a leading air hub”, he said.
Between January and September, traffic to and from Singapore and China grew 15.3 per cent year-on-year while traffic to India increased by 4.2 per cent.
Overall, Changi Airport handled 43.5 million passengers in the first nine months of the year, 6.2 per cent more than the total traffic for the same period last year.
pixabay, Reuters, AFP, The Straits Times, GLOBATRAC, Singapore Airlines
Industry experts say the increase in flights should bring fares down for holidaymakers – especially for those willing to travel on less popular days and times.
Travellers like Agatha Tan, 80, are enjoying the benefits of more flight choices from Singapore.
The retired nursing officer, who is now in Phuket, Thailand, said: “Fares for regional flights are very attractive these days, which means more holidays for me.”
She said: “I paid $180 all in for my SilkAir flight to Phuket and will be travelling again to Bangkok in January on Jetstar Asia. I paid under $200 for that flight as well.”
karam@sph.com.sg
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