Cargo loads for SIA Group rose 13.6% y-o-y, driven by a boost in perishables traffic with China lifting its ban on Australian live rock lobster imports ahead of Lunar New Year.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group’s passenger capacity increased 7.1% in December 2024 from a year before, and passenger traffic rose by 6.0%.

The group’s passenger load factor stood at 88.5% with SIA and Scoot posting monthly passenger load factors of 88.4% and 89.2% respectively. 

The two airlines carried a total of 3.6 million passengers, up 7.1% from the year before, and a monthly record for the group. This brings the total passenger carriage for 2024 to 39.0 million, 12.7% higher than the 34.6 million the group registered in 2023.

For Scoot, the airline posted a slight decrease in terms of percentage points (ppts) for revenue passenger-km, available seat-km, and overall passenger load factor. 

Cargo loads rose by 13.6% y-o-y, outpacing the 11.3% expansion in cargo capacity. 

In addition to the traditional year-end demand, the higher loads were driven by a boost in perishables traffic with China lifting its ban on Australian live rock lobster imports, and strong demand ahead of the Lunar New Year period. 

Cargo operations posted a load factor of 53.6%, 1.0 ppt higher y-o-y.

During December, Scoot launched passenger services to Phu Quoc, Vietnam, while SIA resumed direct seasonal services to Sapporo (Chitose) in Japan.

At the end of December 2024, the group’s passenger network covered 129 destinations in 36 countries and territories. SIA served 80 destinations, while Scoot served 72 destinations. The cargo network comprised 133 destinations in 37 countries and territories.

Shares in SIA closed flat at $6.27.