Singapore Airlines Group just posted its highest ever net profit Group passenger capacity reached 79% of pre-Covid¹ levels in March 2023, higher than the average for Asia-Pacific airlines. SIA and Scoot collectively carried 26.5 million passengers, up six-times from the year before. Passenger load factor jumped to 85.4%, which is the highest ever. Group operating profit came in at a record $2.6 billion reversing the $610 million loss a year ago. SIA Group net profit was $2.1 billion. Revenue increased by $10 billion to a record $17.7 billion. The strong demand for air travel spurred high revenue and passenger load factors, it said. Borders fully reopened just over a year ago. SIA and Scoot were among the first to launch flights as borders reopened, and captured the pent-up demand," said SIA. The Group shareholders’ equity was $19.9 billion as of 31 March 2023. Cash and bank balances stood at $16.3 billion.

Singapore Airlines is touting special limited return fares for Australia flights from the UK. It has various Australian destinations on sale departing London Heathrow and Manchester Airport from £994pp. Additionally, direct flights from Manchester to Houston are also on sale, starting from £469pp. Available for a limited time, discounted Economy, Premium Economy and Business Class return fares depart London Heathrow, Manchester and Aberdeen until early 2024. Unlimited complimentary Wi-Fi is offered to passengers travelling in Business Class, PPS Club members, and supplementary cardholders. KrisFlyer members enjoy complimentary in-flight Wi-Fi allowance of two hours in Economy and three hours in Premium Economy. For discounted Australia flights, customers must book by 2 May 2023, for travel between November 2023 and March 2024. Flights to Houston must be booked by Monday 15 May 2023 to avail the offer.

Singapore Airlines unveiled its latest global brand campaign. It will run on television, print, digital, out-of-home, and social media platforms. Called Welcome to World Class, the campaign showcases exceptional customer experience. It highlights SIA's cabin crew in the 90-second campaign video,. Lee Lik Hsin, Executive Vice President Commercial, said: "Service excellence is deeply ingrained and our customers are at the heart of everything we do.” Directed by filmmaker Liz Murphy, the video was filmed in Singapore, Auckland, Barcelona Mumbai and Shanghai. The airline conducted in-depth research for the brand campaign. It measured the global brand perception and used findings to create the content.

Thai Airways and Singapore Airlines have joined hands to form a new strategic airline partnership. They will phase in code sharing more extensively on each other’s services The two carriers will also collaborate on commercial activities. Thai and SIA will initially codeshare on flight services between Singapore and Bangkok. Thai will also codeshare on SIA’s flight services to Cape Town and Johannesburg in South Africa. There will also be codesharing on North America flights including Houston, LA, New York and Newark. The airline partnership will explore additional codeshare arrangements. Goh Choon Phong, CEO, Singapore Airlines said: “This is a win-win opportunity to support the growth of our respective hubs.”

Singapore Airlines and Tata Sons confirmed the airline merger of Air India and Vistara. SIA is investing US$250 million in Air India as part of the transaction. This will give SIA a 25.1% stake in the Air India Group. SIA and Tata plan to complete the airline merger by March 2024. It will use cash reserves to fund the deal. They also agreed to add possible capital injections to fund growth in FY2022/23 and FY2023/24. SIA has held a minority share in Vistara since it formed as a joint venture with Tata. The merger will bolster SIA’s presence in India and strengthen its multi-hub strategy. Air India and Vistara have a total of 218 aircraft, serving 38 international and 52 domestic destinations.

Singapore Airlines passengers will soon be able to ditch face masks on board certain flights. Masks will only be required on flights to or from destinations where they are still mandatory. The change is effective from Monday August 29. Masks are also no longer required in Changi Airport. It comes as Singapore announced the lifting of indoor masking in most venues. It is also scrapping quarantine for non-vaccinated arrivals as long as they test negative.

Hotel room rates in Singapore last month shot up to their highest in nearly six years. It marks a fast recovery in the Lion City after Covid measures were eased. Average daily rate in June was US$171, which the highest since summer 2016 the Singapore Tourism Board said. It marks a 63% jump from a year ago, when Covid quarantine restrictions were still in operation. STB data showed arrivals into Singapore surged nearly twelve-fold in the first six months of 2022 compared to a year ago. Conferences and events business has also rebounded strongly. Singapore is to aiming for between 4-6 million visitors this year.

Singapore’s little known second airport Seletar has resumed commercial flight operations for the first time since the pandemic. Malaysian regional airline Firefly touched down this week from Subang. Firefly is now operating two return flights a day from Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang to Seletar, which is located in the north of the city state. Subang-Singapore is Firefly's first international route to restart. Seletar Airport is managed by Changi Airport Group.

Fully vaccinated travellers on all Singapore Airlines and Scoot flights now get quarantine-free entry into Singapore, without any on-arrival test or quarantine requirements, from 1 April 2022. It follows easing of travel protocols for entry into the country This opens up the entire SIA and Scoot network to all eligible customers. SIA and Scoot currently operate to 97 destinations in 34 countries from Singapore. All fully vaccinated travellers are still required to take a pre-departure test and meet visa requirements. As a result, SIA and Scoot will no longer designate specific Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) flights from 1 April 2022. Existing customers who are currently booked on a VTL flight on or after 1 April 2022 may travel as planned. They need not make any changes to their booking. Travellers, regardless of vaccination status, will be allowed to transit through Singapore on almost all SIA and Scoot flights from 1 April 2022 as long as they meet the entry requirements of their final destination .“The SIA Group welcomes the latest measures to simplify travel protocols for entry into Singapore. This supports the goal of restoring Singapore’s position as a leading tourist destination and premier air hub, ”the company said.

The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has outlined ambitious plans for an integrated tourism development at Jurong Lake District. It is being marketed as a major lifestyle and tourism hub comprising various attractions, retail, food and beverage, entertainment and hotel rooms. STB is seeking proposals to develop and operate it. When built, it will generate more than 100,000 new jobs, STB says. It is targeting completion by 2028.

Singapore Airlines will reinstate its full flight schedule to and from London Heathrow by 2 June. By then flight frequencies will be at pre-pandemic levels, SIA said. The four daily flights will be operated by Boeing 777, Airbus 380 and A350aircraft. To boost connectivity for regional customers, SIA and Loganair launched an interlining agreement on several routes. Loganair flights from Aberdeen, Inverness, Teesside and the Isle of Man will connect to Singapore Airlines flights from Heathrow and Manchester. “Singapore Airlines is delighted to announce this new interline partnership giving our passengers greater connectivity,” Mohamed Rafi Mar, general manager Singapore Airlines UK & Ireland, said.

Dream Cruises’ World Dream cruise has now ceased operations. Embattled parent company Genting Hong Kong said it ‘has become impossible’ to secure funding to continue sailing its schedule of short cruises from Singapore. World Dream offered cruises to nowhere out of Singapore. The final sailing returned to Singapore on Wednesday. There is also doubt over refunds for cancelled cruises. Genting HK is ‘assessing the impact of the cessation of operation of the World Dream, in particular its ability to meet potential refund claims,’ "Despite continued efforts to source external funding, the group’s liquidity continues to deteriorate," it said.