Singapore Airlines Ltd. plans so-called flights to nowhere – trips that start and end at the same airport – in an attempt to boost its ground passenger activity, The Straits Timesreported on Friday, citing unidentified people.
Flights from Changi Airport are expected to take place by the end of October and can be combined with stays in city hotels, vouchers and limousine ferry rides, according to the report.
Stricter travel rules to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic have hit the aviation industry around the world, with carriers such as Singapore Airlines being particularly affected because they do not operate flights interiors. The International Air Transport Association does not expect passenger traffic to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2024.
Singapore Airlines is not the first to offer travel that ends at the airport from which it departs. Japan’s ANA Holdings Inc. last month sold tickets for a charter flight to nowhere, while two Taiwanese carriers launched similar campaigns – Starlux Airlines launched a trip “pretending to go overseas And EVA Airways Corp. filled the 309 seats with a special Father’s. Daytime flight.
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The Singapore Airlines plan comes after a survey by Singapore Air Charter showed that 75% of 308 attendees were willing to purchase tickets on these types of flights, according to the Straits Times report.
Singapore’s national carrier said on Thursday it waseliminating 20% of its workforce despite raising around S $ 11 billion ($ 8 billion) through loans and a rights issue in June, and receiving help from a government support program to work.
