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Danny Lee

Reuters

Singapore Airlines on Tuesday says it will temporarily cut flights across its global network in March, April and May due to weaker demand as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.
Destinations that are among those with services reduced include Los Angeles, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Seoul, Jakarta, Sydney and Mumbai, the airline said on its website.
“Affected customers will be notified and reaccommodated onto other flights,” the airline said.
The move cuts 670 flights across 96 routes from March through until May, with Japan and South Korea flights the most affected.
Philippine airlines lose Chinese tourists that Duterte lured amid virus outbreak
The airline had already announced major cuts to flights to mainland China and Hong Kong.
“It’s not a surprise to see some cuts in flights, given the weak forward bookings that can be expected from the current environment,” said DBS analyst Paul Yong.
Demand on flights to South Korea and Japan had been hit hardest after China, Yong quoted Singapore Airlines’ management team as having told analysts at a results briefing on Monday.
Those were the areas of the biggest cutbacks in Tuesday’s announcement.

With at least 77 coronavirus cases, Singapore has one of the highest outside mainland China, where more than 1,800 people have been killed in the epidemic.
Last week, the Asian tourism and travel hub said it expected visitor numbers to drop by a quarter or more this year, hit by the virus outbreak.
K Ajith, director of Asia Transportation Research at brokerage UOB Kay Hian, said Singapore Air’s (SIA) management expressed an “urgent need to preserve cash” during its briefing with analysts, in a similar alarm sounded by Cathay only weeks ago.
“Given a choice between having to ground and park aircraft, SIA took the option of just reducing utilisation [of aircraft] and save [on] manpower, catering and fuel cost,” the Singapore-based analyst said.
Singapore bracing for coronavirus to hit tourism harder than Sars
As a bellwether for other major Asian airlines, the length of the flight reductions because of weak travel demand could also concern Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, which earlier this month took drastic action to scale back its flights, including eliminating the bulk of its mainland China network.
On Monday, Cathay said it would “likely” extend its flight cuts into April, after making reductions to more than half of its flights in February and March. Based on Singapore Air’s actions, it signals Cathay may need to keep cutting flights in May.
Hong Kong’s flagship airline also issued its third profit warning in little over six months as the twin effects of the coronavirus and several months of anti-government protests have undermined the company’s financial performance.


A fortnight ago, Cathay Pacific’s CEO appealed to all 27,000 staff members to take three weeks of unpaid leave between the start of March and the end of June.
Hometown rival Hong Kong Airlines is in worse shape. The HNA-backed airline is cutting 400 jobs and forcing staff to choose between working part time or taking unpaid leave for a total of two months from mid-February until the end of June.
South Korea’s Asiana Airlines also asked cabin crew last week to take unpaid leave until the end of February after scaling back its China flights.


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Coronavirus Singapore

Singapore Airlines cuts 670 flights from March to May amid coronavirus outbreak

Flights from March to May have been reduced. Photo: Reuters

epa08214496 Tourists wearing protective masks stand near the Rain Vortex at the Jewel Changi Airport mall in Singapore, 13 February 2020. Singapore's Ministry of Health has reported 50 cases of novel coronavirus infection, as well as 15 cases of patients that have been discharged. The disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 has been officially named Covid-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). The outbreak, which originated in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has so far killed at least 1,369 people with over 60,000 infected worldwide, mostly in China. EPA-EFE/WALLACE WOON

Coronavirus: here are the airlines and places restricting travel to and from China

A man wears a mask at Hong Kong airport. Photo: AP

Passengers arrive on a flight from Asia at Los Angeles International Airport, California. Photo: AFP

Hundreds more Hong Kong flights to be cancelled as coronavirus hammers air travel

The air industry in Hong Kong and beyond has been thrown into disarray by the coronavirus outbreak. Photo: Reuters

The route between Hong Kong and Taiwan's capital Taipei is the second busiest in the world, according to a recent IATA report, with 28,447 flights annually. Photo: Shutterstock

Philippine airlines are losing Chinese tourists amid coronavirus outbreak that Duterte serenaded with pro-Beijing overtures

A Cebu Pacific Air passenger plane lands at Hong Kong International Airport. Photo: Handout

Singapore Airshow organisers vow to ‘carry on’ despite coronavirus concerns

A worker wipes the window glass of cockpit of an Embraer SA 195-E2 aircraft on display at the Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore. Photo: Bloomberg

A medical staff checks the temperature of an attendee inside a vehicle at a screening point during a media preview day at the Singapore Airshow held at the Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. Lockheed Martin Corp and Raytheon Co. are among more than 70 international aviation companies withdrawing from Asia's largest aerospace and defense conference in Singapore as concerns mount over the coronavirus outbreak. Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg

A member of staff wearing a protective face mask and plastic poncho is pictured on a road next to the tarmac during a media preview day ahead of the Singapore Airshow in Singapore on February 9, 2020. (Photo by ROSLAN RAHMAN / AFP)

Virgin Australia permanently cancels Hong Kong routes amid coronavirus outbreak, anti-government protests

The performance of the route had declined following the anti-government protests and is expected to be further impacted by the growing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis, the airline said. Photo: EPA

Sir Richard Branson at the Virgin Australia launch party at The Peninsula Hotel in Tsim Sha Tsui. 05JUL17 SCMP / Nora Tam

The performance of the route had declined following the anti-government protests and is expected to be further impacted by the growing uncertainty caused by the coronavirus crisis, the airline said. Photo: Sam Tsang

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Asia

Southeast Asia


The move affects 96 routes, including to Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and Sydney
Affected passengers will be reaccommodated onto other flights, the airline says



The move affects 96 routes, including to Tokyo, Los Angeles and Sydney. Affected passengers will be moved to other flights, Singapore Airlines says.


Singapore Airlines cuts 670 flights from March to May amid coronavirus outbreak

The move affects 96 routes, including to Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and Sydney Affected passengers will be reaccommodated onto other flights, the airline says

The move affects 96 routes, including to Tokyo, Paris, Los Angeles and Sydney

Affected passengers will be reaccommodated onto other flights, the airline says