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Coffeeshop Chit Chat - Changi Airport traffic steepest drop! </TD><TD id=msgunetc noWrap align=right>
Subscribe </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE><TABLE class=msgtable cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="96%"><TBODY><TR><TD class=msg vAlign=top><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgbfr1 width="1%"> </TD><TD><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgF noWrap align=right width="1%">From: </TD><TD class=msgFname noWrap width="68%">kojakbt22 <NOBR>
</NOBR> </TD><TD class=msgDate noWrap align=right width="30%">5:57 am </TD></TR><TR class=msghead><TD class=msgT noWrap align=right width="1%" height=20>To: </TD><TD class=msgTname noWrap width="68%">ALL <NOBR></NOBR></TD><TD class=msgNum noWrap align=right> (1 of 1) </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgleft width="1%" rowSpan=4> </TD><TD class=wintiny noWrap align=right>9152.1 </TD></TR><TR><TD height=8></TD></TR><TR><TD class=msgtxt><TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR><TD>Changi Airport traffic shrinks 13%
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Passenger figures fall for 4th straight month; slide is steepest in over 5 years </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->FEWER passengers are going in and out the doors of Changi Airport.
The numbers started to nosedive in September when global financial markets went into a tailspin, but were especially bad last month. In February, the airport's total traffic saw a 13.2 per cent slide, compared with the same month last year.
This followed a drop last September, and from November onwards.
February's drop in traffic was the steepest in any given month in more than five years. It was partly because Chinese New Year, a busy period, came in January; and 2008 was a leap year, with 29 instead of 28 days in February.
One component of Changi's total traffic which stood out last month was the sharp drop in transit traffic. This plummeted 35 per cent compared with the same month last year.
Transit traffic refers to passengers who arrive here on one aircraft and take off again on the same plane.
Those who stop at Changi, and leave on another carrier or aircraft, are categorised as transfer passengers. Data obtained by The Straits Times did not have a breakdown for transfer traffic.
While transit traffic does not make up a significant part of Changi's total business, it gives an indication of the airport's effectiveness as a hub.
Airlines that use Changi as a halfway point, whether to pick up more passengers, clean aircraft or refuel, help boost the airport's hub status.
At the height of the Sars crisis in 2003, when Changi's total traffic plummeted by as much as 58 per cent, the drop in transit traffic was about 25 per cent.
Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof at Standard & Poor's Equity Research believes that the steep decline last month has more to do with the overall industry slowdown, rather than planes being diverted from Changi to other hubs. Still, it is worrying because it shows that the decline in traffic is set to become more severe.
Changi's good connectivity also makes it more vulnerable than many other airports. He said: 'The more open you are, the quicker and harder you get hit when a downturn comes.
'Of course, the upside is that when recovery comes, you are also in the best position to benefit from it.
'The scary thing, though, is that this (the crisis) has not bottomed out yet, and we do not know when it will,' he said.
Mr David Chambers, regional vice-president (Asia Pacific) at airline consultancy Sabre Airline Solutions, said Changi's 'primary reliance' on Singapore Airlines (SIA) and a handful of other carriers for connecting traffic also means less traffic when these airlines cut flights.
SIA, for example, has already announced a 11 per cent cut in capacity over the next 12 months.
Changi's falling business affects not just airport operations and its bottom line, but that of its partners as well. From retailers and restaurant owners to ground-handlers, cargo agents and taxi drivers, everyone is having a harder time.
Singapore Airport Terminal Services (Sats) - Changi's biggest passenger, baggage and cargo-handling provider - handled 2.55 million passengers in January, a 3.6 per cent drop from the same month last year.
This translates into a 4.2 per cent drop in food produced, to 2.1 million meals.
Mr Ken Tse, managing director of airport cosmetics and perfume chain Nuance-Watson, confirmed that the fall in traffic had hurt business, but declined to elaborate for competitive reasons.
The focus now is to work with the airport authorities to create greater awareness of Changi's competitive prices, not just among travellers but among the general public as well.
To help its troubled partners, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has a $200 million kitty to fund various help schemes this year. They include landing and rental rebates, as well as advertising support. But some, like cabby Desapro Pang, 33, have decided to just stay away from the airport for now. He said: 'Before all the trouble started, the waiting time for a passenger was about half an hour. Now, it is more than an hour. It is just not worth my time any more.'
[email protected]
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- headline one : end --></TD></TR><TR><TD>Passenger figures fall for 4th straight month; slide is steepest in over 5 years </TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- Author --></TD></TR><TR><TD class="padlrt8 georgia11 darkgrey bold" colSpan=2>By Karamjit Kaur, Aviation Correspondent
</TD></TR><TR><TD><!-- show image if available --></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->FEWER passengers are going in and out the doors of Changi Airport.
The numbers started to nosedive in September when global financial markets went into a tailspin, but were especially bad last month. In February, the airport's total traffic saw a 13.2 per cent slide, compared with the same month last year.
This followed a drop last September, and from November onwards.
February's drop in traffic was the steepest in any given month in more than five years. It was partly because Chinese New Year, a busy period, came in January; and 2008 was a leap year, with 29 instead of 28 days in February.
One component of Changi's total traffic which stood out last month was the sharp drop in transit traffic. This plummeted 35 per cent compared with the same month last year.
Transit traffic refers to passengers who arrive here on one aircraft and take off again on the same plane.
Those who stop at Changi, and leave on another carrier or aircraft, are categorised as transfer passengers. Data obtained by The Straits Times did not have a breakdown for transfer traffic.
While transit traffic does not make up a significant part of Changi's total business, it gives an indication of the airport's effectiveness as a hub.
Airlines that use Changi as a halfway point, whether to pick up more passengers, clean aircraft or refuel, help boost the airport's hub status.
At the height of the Sars crisis in 2003, when Changi's total traffic plummeted by as much as 58 per cent, the drop in transit traffic was about 25 per cent.
Aviation analyst Shukor Yusof at Standard & Poor's Equity Research believes that the steep decline last month has more to do with the overall industry slowdown, rather than planes being diverted from Changi to other hubs. Still, it is worrying because it shows that the decline in traffic is set to become more severe.
Changi's good connectivity also makes it more vulnerable than many other airports. He said: 'The more open you are, the quicker and harder you get hit when a downturn comes.
'Of course, the upside is that when recovery comes, you are also in the best position to benefit from it.
'The scary thing, though, is that this (the crisis) has not bottomed out yet, and we do not know when it will,' he said.
Mr David Chambers, regional vice-president (Asia Pacific) at airline consultancy Sabre Airline Solutions, said Changi's 'primary reliance' on Singapore Airlines (SIA) and a handful of other carriers for connecting traffic also means less traffic when these airlines cut flights.
SIA, for example, has already announced a 11 per cent cut in capacity over the next 12 months.
Changi's falling business affects not just airport operations and its bottom line, but that of its partners as well. From retailers and restaurant owners to ground-handlers, cargo agents and taxi drivers, everyone is having a harder time.
Singapore Airport Terminal Services (Sats) - Changi's biggest passenger, baggage and cargo-handling provider - handled 2.55 million passengers in January, a 3.6 per cent drop from the same month last year.
This translates into a 4.2 per cent drop in food produced, to 2.1 million meals.
Mr Ken Tse, managing director of airport cosmetics and perfume chain Nuance-Watson, confirmed that the fall in traffic had hurt business, but declined to elaborate for competitive reasons.
The focus now is to work with the airport authorities to create greater awareness of Changi's competitive prices, not just among travellers but among the general public as well.
To help its troubled partners, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore has a $200 million kitty to fund various help schemes this year. They include landing and rental rebates, as well as advertising support. But some, like cabby Desapro Pang, 33, have decided to just stay away from the airport for now. He said: 'Before all the trouble started, the waiting time for a passenger was about half an hour. Now, it is more than an hour. It is just not worth my time any more.'
[email protected]
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