Despite travel warnings: SilkAir load factor remains upbeat

CEBU, Philippines – Amidst recent advisories issued against travel to the Philippines, particularly in the southern part of the country, it is such a relief that international airlines still enjoy upbeat passenger traffic to this date.

SilkAir Philippines Manager Ajish Henry Morris said "SilkAir load factors on our Cebu and Davao flights have been reasonably healthy, supported by sales from Philippines, Singapore and traffic connecting via the Singapore hub."

Morris added that SilkAir have not seen an erosion of forward loads arising from the travel advisories issued by some countries, stressing that "our passenger loads remain strong for the coming months."

Earlier this month, several foreign nations including the United States, Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada, and France warned their nationals working or living in the Philippines to be cautious due to imminent terror threats in the country.

The travel warnings were feared to cause a negative impact towards the country's tourism industry.

Morris for his part said the travel advisories failed to generate such drastic adverse effects to the airline industry because the warnings were more generic rather than specific.  

The usual peak periods for SilkAir are from December to January, then from March to April.

As testament to the airline company's confidence in the country, Morris said SilkAir is constantly on the lookout for new opportunities to expand their business in more destinations.

"We are closely monitoring the tourism developments in certain destinations that have the potential to sustain international flights. For the time being, our focus is on growing our business in Visayas and Mindanao, through our flights to Cebu and Davao," he said.

SilkAir operates the narrow body fleet of its parent airline, Singapore Airlines Group. Its passenger profile on Philippine flights is composed of business travelers, VFR market segment that includes visiting friends and relatives as well as overseas based Filipinos and family members, and the leisure travelers including tourists, backpackers, and adventurers.

It is a full service premium regional airline that first took the skies in 1989 as Tradewinds The Airline, and later became known as SilkAir in 1992.

SilkAir flies from its Singapore hub to more than 400 flights weekly to 33 destinations across 11 countries including Phnom Penh and Siem Reap in Cambodia, Chengdu, Chongqing, Kunming,Shenzhen, and Xiamen in China, Bangalore, Chennai, Coimbatore, Hyderabad, Kochi, and Thiruvananthapuram in India, Balikpapan, Lombok, Manado, Medan, Palembang, Solo, and Surabaya in Indonesia, Kuching, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, and Penang in Malaysia, Yangon in Myanmar, Kathmandu in Nepal, Cebu and Davao in the Philippines, Chiang Mai and Phuket in Thailand, and Da Nang in Vietnam. (FREEMAN)