ingapore SilkAir firms up 6 aircraft deliveries in next three
years -
SINGAPORE (AFX-ASIA) - Singapore Airlines' regional carrier,
SilkAir,
said it has firmed up the delivery of six aircraft over the
next
three years and expects to have a 16-strong fleet by 2008.
No financial details of the purchase were provided.
The new aircraft are three Airbus A320s and three Airbus A319s.
The
airline now has six A320s and four A319s.
SilkAir added that it has further aircraft orders on option.
The airline said it will be offering discounts of up to 40 pct
of
normal market fares and expects to make more such offers in
the
coming months.
SilkAir said it took a bad hit from the SARS outbreak last year
as
revenue fell 19.7 pct due to a dramatic decline in passenger
demand.
However, it managed to bounce back with a strong third quarter to
Dec
2003, when it posted a net profit of 9.2 mln sgd.
The company's cumulative net profit for nine months to Dec 2003
was
5.3 mln.
"We managed to get back into the black after we were hit by SARS
in
the first half (2003)," SilkAir chief executive officer Mike
Barclay
told a media briefing.
"We have every prospect to be comfortably profitable for the
fourth
quarter (to March 2004) of this financial year," Barclay
said.
Barclay also said he sees minimal impact from the proliferation
of
low-cost carriers in the region as these airlines are unlikely
to
offer interline facilities and, thus, will not be able to draw
on
SilkAir's customer base.
In contrast, Barclay sees potential competition from Valuair,
Singapore's first budget airline.
"Yes, I think Valuair will be more in our niche, but we don't
know
much about them yet. Although we don't think they are going to
be
interlining -- that will be the crucial difference -- but
Valuair
will be a competitor," Barclay said.
Valuair, which plans to launch its services in the second quarter
of
this year, intends to operate a network within five hours'
flying
time of Singapore.