Singapore Airlines (SIA) has seen “single-digit” growth in outbound travel from Hong Kong amid a sharp downturn in demand for flights into the protest-stricken city, its executives said on Friday. The surprise disclosure of growth in travel from Hong Kong suggests that one of the world’s premium carriers is picking up business from struggling rivals like Cathay Pacific Airways , which has been battered by a sharp fall in passenger travel. Hong Kong is considered the Singapore Airlines Group’s second-largest market in terms of the number of seats offered after Jakarta, and the company’s flagship premium airline offers seven flights a day to the city. Chia Chow Hwee, SIA’s general manager for Hong Kong and Macau, described the gains in outbound travel as a “single-digit improvement”, noting that 68 to 70 per cent of seats for its Hong Kong flights were occupied at the moment - still a less than stellar number. “If you ask me, the increase in the outbound is compensating for the drop in inbound. Overall our decline is mitigated to a large extent, on average down 10 percentage points, but we are making minor [capacity changes],” he said “In terms of optimism for the market, we think with the rising outbound, as long as the inbound comes back … overseas offices in Singapore, Australia, and the UK are all waiting to promote Hong Kong at the appropriate time.” Visit Hong Kong? Tourism sector reels as months of protests, disruptions leave travellers saying: No, thanks SIA executives were speaking at a media event in Hong Kong to showcase the airline’s investments in making its service, food and beverage more exclusive, personalised and with the theme of sustainability at its core. The aim, the company said, was to help the airline differentiate itself further from rivals. The flag carrier for Singapore disclosed this week that it had trimmed seat capacity on its Hong Kong route by 5 per cent. Its plan to add more double-decker A380 superjumbo flights on the Hong Kong route was also on hold until the current instability passed. The operational changes included merging some of its daily flights, or introducing smaller aircraft for flights with fewer profitable-generating business and premium economy seats in favour of far more economy capacity. Cathay Pacific plans to give away free economy-class tickets to its staff across Asia after being badly affected by Hong Kong protests Japan’s All Nippon Airlines (ANA), meanwhile became the latest prominent carrier to make significant cuts on Thursday in the Hong Kong market, for which it apologised to passengers for the inconvenience. Between December this year and March 2020, apart from the Christmas and Lunar New Year periods where its schedule remains intact, ANA removed flights from Nagoya-Hong Kong, axed one of two daily Tokyo Narita flights and put on a smaller plane from Osaka to the city. The cuts by Japan’s largest carrier, which it attributed to the current declines in passenger and cargo volume through Hong Kong. went further and deeper than its previous cuts last year. Other foreign airlines, such as United Airlines, Air Canada and Thai Airways, had also made adjustments in recent months. Local carrier Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong Airlines had led the changes in reducing flight schedules. Cathay, Hong Kong’s flagship carrier, saw outbound passenger traffic fall 9 per cent in September, compared to a 12 per cent decline in August. Inbound traffic for Cathay fell 38 per cent in each of those two months. It’s a market we have been in for many years, so I am still very optimistic about its future Chia Chow Hwee, SIA’s general manager for Hong Kong and Macau Chia said the airline’s showcase event in Hong Kong was “a testament” to its confidence in the city. “It’s a market we have been in for many years, so I am still very optimistic about its future. Of course the current situation is not very good for any of us, but we shouldn’t be under any illusion that one carrier’s misfortune is another carrier’s gain,” he said. As for calls from the airline industry for the government to introduce measures to help airlines lower the cost of flying in and out of Hong Kong, the SIA general manager recognised that the government was helping the most affected business sectors first in a step-by-step fashion. “After helping those, perhaps, in upcoming weeks or months there could be some good news for the airline industry,” Chia said.