SIA: Its continuing struggle
with declining yield — December 2018

Significant decline in operating and net profit at the SIA Group during the first half of 2018/19 was partly the result of one-offs and rising fuel prices — but also due to ever-falling yield. Is Singapore Airlines caught between maintaining its traditional prioritisation of premium products and building up a substantial LCC business?

In the first half of SIA’s 2018/19 financial year (the six months ending 30 September 2018), the Group saw revenue rise by 2.5% year-on-year to S$7.9bn (US$5.9bn), based on an 5.8% increase in mainline passengers carried, to 10.2m. Mainline capacity growth of 2.6% in the first-half of the year was surpassed by a 6.0% rise in RPKs, leading to 2.7 percentage point rise in passenger load factor, to 83.6%.