Singapore Changi Airport

The A380 becomes mainstream, with 103 now in service: which airlines, destinations, stage lengths?

There are 103 A380s in service as of early May-2013. Emirates has 33 and Singapore Airlines has 19, so when assessing network scheduling, these two and their hubs predominate: of the 1,048 weekly A380 flights, 402 are from Emirates alone. Dubai and Singapore airport see the most A380 flights.

But there are some less predictable statistics. The airport to see the most A380 operators is Hong Kong followed by Paris and Los Angeles. The largest A380 destination that is not (yet) an A380-hub is London Heathrow. The UK and USA are the most common A380 destinations after Australia, Singapore and the UAE. Asia, not the Middle East, sees the most A380 flights; South America sees none. Guangzhou-Shanghai Pudong is the shortest A380 route at 1,202km while Los Angeles-Melbourne is the longest at 12,751km. Qantas and Lufthansa have the highest average sector length while Thai Airways is placing the most number of cycles – about two – on its aircraft per day. Qantas and Air France are placing the least (just over one).

Tiger Airways narrows losses in FY2013 - but challenges for FY2014 remain

Tiger Airways has narrowed its losses in the year to 31-Mar-2013 and extended its operating profit to a second consecutive quarter while forecasting a positive operating result by mid-Jul-2013 after the sale of 60% of Tiger Australia to Virgin Australia is completed.

The carrier also plans to add frequencies to high demand routes between Singapore and Malaysia and expects to take delivery of 10 A320 during the financial year, half of which will be allocated to the Singapore operation and the remainder between Tiger Australia and two associated airlines, Mandala and SEAir.

Tiger Singapore will use the aircraft to increase capacity by about 25% by the end of FY2014 and taking advantage of expanded bilateral rights between Singapore and Indonesia which will also boost Mandala. However, the group still faces significant challenges as it strives to nurture three affiliated carriers in Australia, Malaysia and the Philippines to profitability.

Jetstar Group concentrates on its Singapore hub as Jetstar Asia increases focus on Southeast Asia

This is the third report in a three-part series on Jetstar’s Singapore-based operations, which includes Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Airways and Valuair. The first two reports analysed Jetstar’s position in two key markets, Singapore-Indonesia and Singapore-China. This report looks at other markets and Jetstar’s overall outlook in Singapore.

Over the last year Jetstar has slowed down fleet and ASK expansion from Singapore after a period of rapid capacity growth for all of the country’s major LCCs, intensifying competition and impacting profitability. Seat capacity, however, has continued to grow rapidly as Jetstar Asia has increased its focus on short-haul Southeast Asian markets, particularly Malaysia, while decreasing its focus on medium-haul flights to North Asia, particularly mainland China.

In the coming months Jetstar Asia/Valuair will take two more A320s for a total of 20 aircraft, with the additional capacity once again being allocated to short-haul markets, primarily neighbouring Malaysia and Indonesia.

Jetstar misses another opportunity in Singapore as it reduces focus on China market

This is the second report in a three-part series on Jetstar’s Singapore-based operations, which includes Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Airways and Valuair. The first report analysed the booming Singapore-Indonesia market, where Jetstar is now looking to expand after several years of flat capacity.

This report looks at Jetstar’s position in the Singapore-China market while the third part will look at the overall outlook for Jetstar Asia. Jetstar has significantly cut back in the China market since the end of 2011, reversing a strategy from 2010 and 2011 that focused on using its Singapore hub to pursue rapid growth throughout mainland China. This strategy included using Jetstar Asia’s A320 fleet to operate medium-haul flights to southern China while using Jetstar Airways’ A330 fleet to access markets in northern China that are beyond narrowbody range from Singapore.

Jetstar aims to catch up in Indonesia after squandering first mover advantage inherited from Valuair

The Jetstar Group is preparing to increase its presence in the booming Indonesia market with additional services from its Singapore hub. The expansion follows several years of relatively flat capacity to Indonesia for Jetstar while its LCC competitors have pursued rapid growth.

Jetstar faces challenges as it tries to catch up on several years of missed opportunities in the Indonesian market. The group may struggle to compete with larger players, most of which are also pursuing rapid capacity expansion. Jetstar lacks an Indonesian affiliate, making it difficult to sell in the local Indonesian market, which remains heavily dependent on travel agents.

But the opportunities in Indonesia are too humongous for the usually conservative Jetstar to pass up. It needs to make a push or risk being shut out entirely in one of the largest and fastest growing markets in Asia.

Tiger and SIA/SilkAir lead race to expand in Indonesia-Singapore market with AirAsia lagging behind

Competition in the Indonesia-Singapore market will intensify in 3Q2013 with Singapore Airlines (SIA) adding capacity while its regional subsidiary SilkAir and low-cost affiliate Tiger Airways each launch services to two new Indonesian destinations. Garuda Indonesia, Tiger affiliate Mandala Airlines and Jetstar are all planning to follow SIA, SilkAir and Tiger in adding capacity in the dynamic Indonesia-Singapore market.

The surge in capacity is in part made possible by a newly expanded bilateral agreement between the two countries. Slot constraints, however, threaten to impede growth for some carriers operating in the market and make it difficult to use newly awarded traffic rights. For example, Indonesia AirAsia has already been set back by slot constraints at Changi Airport in attempts to launch three new routes to Singapore.