SilkAir will transfer its services over a number of routes to budget airline Scoot over the next two years ahead of its merger with Singapore Airlines (SIA). These routes include flights to Coimbatore, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam in India and several destinations in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Laos.
“The changes are expected to take place between April 2019 and the second half of 2020. They are the result of a detailed review to identify which airlines in the SIA Group portfolio are best suited to meet evolving customer demand,” said SIA in a press release issued today.
List of SilkAir routes to be transferred to Scoot:
- Laos (Luang Prabang and Vientiane) in April 2019
- India (Coimbatore, Trivandrum and Visakhapatnam) between May and October 2019
- China (Changsha, Fuzhou, Kunming and Wuhan) between May and June 2019
- Thailand (Chiang Mai) in October 2019
- Malaysia (Kota Kinabalu) in December 2019
- Indonesia (Balikpapan, Lombok, Makassar, Manado, Semarang and Yogyakarta) between May and July 2020
In addition to this, Scoot will also be transferring some of its services to existing destinations served by SIA and SilkAir.
Scoot to SIA (Both are existing SIA destinations)
Bengaluru and Chennai in India, in May 2019 and May 2020
Scoot to SilkAir (Both are existing SilkAir destinations)
Shenzhen in China, from June 2019
Kochi in India, from October 2019
“Customers with existing bookings will be provided the option to switch to the new Scoot, SIA or SilkAir flights where possible, or be provided refunds,” said SIA in the release.
SilkAir will be converting its Mandalay route to a seasonal service. Existing services will end in March 2019 and will resume in November 2019, continuing until January 2020.
Scoot will meanwhile be suspending services to Honolulu with effect from June 2019 as a result of weak demand.
“We are now at the half-way mark in our three-year Transformation Programme, and today’s announcement represents another significant development. The route review will strengthen the SIA Group for the long term, with the right vehicles in our portfolio of airlines deployed to the right markets,” said Goh Choon Phong, CEO of SIA.
SIA announced in May that its regional wing SilkAir is to undergo a significant investment programme to upgrade its cabin products ahead of its eventual merger into SIA.
The programme will see SilkAir’s cabins fitted with new lie-flat seats in Business Class, and the installation of seat-back in-flight entertainment systems in both Business Class and Economy Class.
The investments will ensure closer product and service consistency across the SIA Group’s full-service network.
Meanwhile, low-cost subsidiary Scoot’s fleet will be expanded with the transfer of 14 Boeing 737-800s from SilkAir, while SilkAir will continue growing its operations in the years ahead as it takes delivery of new Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft, stated SIA in the release.