SIA passenger load factor up in March

Thanks to the 8ppt growth in load factors to Europe.

High passenger load factor caught Singapore Airlines by surprise in March after it grew to 80.1% despite the later Easter holidays.

According to UOB KayHian, the key positive was the rise in load factors to Europe, which expanded by 8 percentage points to 81.8%, the highest since 2010

Meanwhile, load factors to the Americas rose 4 percentage points while that out of South West Pacific fell by the same quantum.

"At this stage, we are unsure if the improvement in load factors to Europe and the Americas was due to capacity/seat reductions or improved demand. In any case, the strong improvement in long haul loads bodes well for profitability even if yields remain flat. For 4QFY17, SIA’s pax load factor improved 2.1ppt yoy," UOB said.

Cargo loads also improved in the said month, up 3.5 percentage points on the back of 6% rise in cargo traffic. This was led by the East Asia, Europe and Americas sectors.