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Coronavirus pandemic
AsiaSoutheast Asia

Coronavirus triggers first-ever annual loss at Singapore Airlines

  • The carrier posted US$149.14 million net loss for the year ended March 31
  • Singapore Airlines, which has cut executive salaries, said the timing of any recovery was uncertain

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Singapore Airlines said the prospects of a recovery in international travel depended on when border controls eased. Photo: Reuters
Reuters
Singapore Airlines on Thursday reported its first-ever annual loss, citing poor fuel hedging bets and the collapse in demand driven by the coronavirus pandemic, and said the timing of any recovery was uncertain.

The airline, a bellwether for premium travel in Asia, swung to a S$212 million (US$149.14 million) net loss in the financial year ended March 31, down from a S$683 million profit a year earlier, in line with guidance to investors provided last week.

In the fourth quarter, it lost S$732 million, down from a S$203 million profit the prior year. Singapore Airlines did not declare a dividend and said the prospects of a recovery in international travel depended on when border controls and travel restrictions eased.
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“There are few signs of abatement in the Covid-19 pandemic,” the airline said in a statement. “The group will maintain a minimum flight connectivity within its network during this period, while ensuring the flexibility to scale up capacity if there is an uptick in demand.”

Airline passenger traffic is not expected to return to pre-crisis levels until 2023 at the earliest and domestic markets will recovery more quickly than international travel, the International Air Transport Association said on Wednesday.

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Singapore, a small city state that lacks a domestic aviation market, is closed to transit passengers on which the airline normally relies for much of its revenue.

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