Chew Choon Seng
© AFP/File Joel Saget SINGAPORE (AFP) - "For the longer hauls, the premium demand is still holding firm," he said at a briefing for analysts and reporters. He added, however, that premium travel for short-haul flights within Asia was tapering off.
Chew was speaking one day after the carrier reported that its fiscal second quarter net profit fell 36.2 percent to 324 million Singapore dollars (218 million US) from the previous year on falling passenger numbers and high fuel costs.
SIA's long-haul services include flights to London using the Airbus A380, the world's biggest plane which offers 12 sky "suites", each with a full-length bed behind sliding doors, designer sheets and flat-screen televisions.
SIA also offers an all-business class seating on its non-stop flights to Los Angeles and New York using its Airbus A340-500s.
Industry analysts have said that the airline industry will be hit hard by the deepening global economic slump as people cut on discretionary spending such as leisure travel.
Chew also said that SIA was unlikely to retrench employees because of the crisis.
Singapore banking giant DBS Group said Friday it was cutting 900 jobs, or six percent of its workforce, this month as part of efforts to cut costs amid the economic slowdown.
©AFP