Singapore Changi Reports Growth in Traffic
Singapore Changi Airport handled 3.82 million passenger movements in September 2011, an increase of 12.5 per cent over the same month last year. Aircraft movements grew in tandem, increasing 16.4 per cent to 25,500 movements during the month, according to the latest statistics from the airport. This means that for the first nine months of the year, Changi Airport handled 34.2 million passenger movements, a year-on-year increase of 11.3 per cent. Interestingly, traffic on low-cost carriers, which accounts for a quarter of the total at Changi, increased 26.0 per cent, while traffic on full-service carriers grew just 7.1 per cent during the same period. Southeast Asia and Northeast Asia have been the major contributors to passenger traffic growth at Changi Airport year-to-date, says the airport, however, the sustainability of this growth may be impacted by weaker travel demand to and from Europe and the United States as a result of increasing economic uncertainty in these regions.
Skywest Adds Link to Kalgoorlie
Australian regional carrier Skywest Airlines is to launch flights between Geraldtown and Kalgoorlie from December 11, providing links between the Goldfields and the mid-west's mining provinces. The airline says the service will increase tourism and business opportunities, providing a boost to the Geraldton economy. It already offers flights to Kalgoorlie from Melbourne and Perth and this new service is expected to operate as a continuation of the existing Melbourne link.
Shandong Airlines Expands Domestic Offering
Shandong Airlines is to expand its domestic offering this winter by introducing flights on eleven new routes. The airline, a subsidiary of Air China, operates mainly domestic trunk routes from Jinan, Qingdao and Yantai to major cities in China. Its expanded network from the end of this month will see the introduction of new services between Jinan and Beihai, Beijing, Dongsheng, Fuzhou, Haikou, Hangzhou, Nanchang, Ningbo, Shantou, Taiyuan, Wuyishan and Zhuhai; with direct and one-stop options between these destinations. There will also be new links from Xiamen to Chengdu, Jingdezhen, Juzhou and Luoyang, while flights will also be offered on the Qingdao – Zhengzhou – Chongqing and Yantai – Taiyuan – Xi’An routes. Shandong Airlines carried an estimated 9.0 million O&D passengers on its domestic route network in the last year giving it a 3.6 per cent share of the total domestic market. The carrier increased its share by 0.3 percentage points over the previous 12 month period as its traffic figures grew by 18.6 per cent.
Air Nelson Launches Auckland Link from Paraparaumu
Air Nelson has inaugurated flights from the newly opened Kapiti Coast Airport in Paraparaumu and Auckland. The airline is offering 18 return flights every week on behalf of Air New Zealand, expanding the national carrier’s domestic network to 27 destinations. The new air service will enhance trade links to the capital and will enable travellers to make more efficient use of their time when travelling to Auckland and on to other domestic or international destinations. “Those living on the Kapiti Coast will no longer have to make the one-hour drive into Wellington Airport – instead they’ll be able to fly direct to Auckland in one hour ten minutes,” said Grant Kerr, General Manager, Air Nelson. He added that there is a large catchment area for the new service, with around 110,000 people living in the area that stretches from Levin in the North to Tawa, near Wellington.
Singapore Airlines Boosts Capacity to Beijing
Singapore Airlines (SIA) is to boost the frequency of its flights between Singapore and Beijing Capital International Airport during the winter schedules. The airline will add a fourth daily rotation on the route between December 16 and March 24, 2012 using an Airbus A330-300s; its existing three daily flights are operated using Boeing 777 equipment. SIA competes with Air China on the route with the latter offering two flights every day. An estimated 536,000 O&D passengers travelled between the two cities in the past year, up 1.7 per cent on the previous 12 month period. SIA has seen its share of the traffic slip during this period from 58 to 54 per cent due to the competition from Air China, although its yield has strengthened as average one-way fares have increased 6.4 per cent to $614.
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