Singapore Airlines 2013 Annual Report Download - page 37

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ANNUAL REPORT 2012/13
SilkAir
SilkAir closed the year in review with a profit after taxation
of $81 million, a decrease of 4.9 per cent compared to
the previous financial year. The airline carried a total of
3.3 million passengers during the year, an improvement
of 8.7 per cent. With capacity growth outpacing passenger
carriage, passenger load factor declined by 2.1 percentage
points to 73.6 per cent.
Three new points were added to the SilkAir network
during the financial year in review – Wuhan, Hanoi and
Visakhapatnam - increasing the airline’s network to 42
destinations in 12 countries.
SilkAir launched thrice-weekly flights to Wuhan in China’s
Hubei province, on 24 April 2012. Wuhan is SilkAir’s seventh
destination in China, after Changsha, Chengdu, Chongqing,
Kunming, Shenzhen and Xiamen.
Flights to Hanoi, the capital of Vietnam, began on 5 June
2012. Hanoi is the airline’s second destination in Vietnam,
after Danang. The thrice-weekly flights complement
Singapore Airlines’ daily services to the city, to offer
passengers a total of 10 round-trip services a week.
Direct flights to Visakhapatnam were launched on
28 October 2012. With the introduction of the thrice-weekly
services, SilkAir became the first airline to provide non-
stop international air connectivity from this port city on the
southeast coast of India.
In addition to the new destinations, capacity to a number of
existing destinations such as Chiang Mai, Hyderabad and
Wuhan was increased to meet growing demand. The airline
also worked actively with partners to operate charters,
including to Dili in Timor Leste.
During the year in review, SilkAir witnessed a change in
leadership with the appointment of Mr Leslie Thng as Chief
Executive on 3 September 2012. Mr Thng, formerly Vice
President Network Planning for Singapore Airlines, took over
from Mr Marvin Tan, who returned to the parent company
as Acting Senior Vice President Cabin Crew. Mr Thng joined
SilkAir as a Board Director on 1 April 2012 and has been
with SIA for more than 13 years, during which time he has
held positions in head office as well as overseas.
On the marketing front, SilkAir embarked on a new brand
campaign, centred around the theme of ‘Feel at Home in the
Air’ to showcase its high level of cabin crew service. Besides
Singapore, the campaign was executed in the key markets of
China, India and Indonesia.
Several SilkAir stations also celebrated their 20th anniversary
during the year in review, including Medan, Cebu and
Kunming, with various corporate and charity events held to
commemorate the significant milestone.
As part of its corporate social responsibility efforts, SilkAir
maintained its partnership with international volunteer
organisation Friends-International (FI), which helps
marginalised urban youth, their families and communities
in developing countries. SilkAir’s Chief Executive and a
group of staff visited FI’s Mith Samlanh centre in Phnom
Penh in September.
SilkAir, together with SIA, also supports Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders,
a leading international humanitarian aid organisation that
provides emergency medical assistance to people in distress
and danger. The airline also maintains its support of the Giant
Panda collaborative programme between Wildlife Reserves
Singapore and the China Wildlife Conservation Association.
SilkAir continues to receive accolades for its dedication to
product and service quality. In March 2013, SilkAir was
awarded ‘Regional Airline of the Year’ in the Air Transport
News Award 2013. SilkAir was the first winner of this newly
introduced category. SilkAir was also ranked 3rd in the Top
10 Airlines by Passenger Carriage in the Changi Airline
Awards 2012, presented by Changi Airport Group.