Singapore Airlines to halt Abu Dhabi, Athens services

Singapore Airlines, which recently reported its first quarterly loss in more than two years, yesterday said it will suspend services to Abu Dhabi and Athens in October due to weak demand on both the routes. "Singapore Airlines will be suspending services to Abu Dhabi and Athens as a result of the sustained weak performance of both routes. "The last flights to both cities will depart Singapore on October 26, 2012," the airline said in an emailed statement. Calling the decision to suspend services a difficult one, the carrier said the suspensions are "in line with Singapore Airlines' policy to match capacity to prevailing market demand". Singapore Airlines will, however, continue to serve Dubai, to which it operates ten weekly flights. Seven of these are operated with Boeing 777 aircraft and the other three with Airbus A330-300 aircraft. The Abu Dhabi route, which Singapore Airlines has been operating since 2006, is currently served three times per week, while Athens — served since 1972 — is served twice a week and rising to three times per week between early July and late September, the carrier said. Asked how this move will impact Abu Dhabi operations, aviation analyst Saj Ahmad with StrategicAero Research told Gulf News: "This exit by Singapore Airlines is Etihad Airways' gain," adding that the Abu Dhabi-based carrier will increase its frequencies to Singapore, thereby putting more pressure on Singapore Airlines. "It [the move] highlights the greater muscle of the Abu Dhabi carrier that has effectively put paid to Singapore Airlines' business case for services to the UAE capital," Ahmad said. The carrier also said that customers holding confirmed tickets issued prior to today for travel to and from Abu Dhabi and Athens after October 26 (October 27 for the return Abu Dhabi-Singapore service) will be eligible for refunds, without administrative fees or penalties. "This also applies to KrisFlyer redemption tickets. Efforts will be made to contact affected customers to offer alternative travel options," it said in the statement. According to Ahmad, meanwhile, Abu Dhabi customers "won't necessarily lose out" given the rapid growth of Etihad Airways. As for Athens, Singapore Airlines said that connections to and from Athens are also possible on Star Alliance partner airlines via several of Singapore Airlines' other European points. While the airline is cutting back operations to the UAE and Greece, it is also looking for potential partnerships in India and China, as the airline's chief executive, Goh Choon Phong, said last week, calling it a move that could help the airline stay profitable.