Fashion
Singapore Airlines is cancelling several flights from its capital connect services later this year, in response to low demand during the off season.
Since September, Singapore has flown Boeing 777-200 to Wellington via Canberra four times a week, a service which aviation experts said appeared to be winning strong support.
Wellington Airport has publicly linked the service to its case to extend its runway south into Cook Strait in a bid to enable direct, long haul services to the capital.
But the airline is dropping three return flights over three months. The flights were due to land and take off from Wellington on August 14, September 5 and October 24.
The cancelled flights appear to be equivalent to just over a 5 per cent cut in capacity over the August-October period.
Simon Turcotte, Singapore Airlines general manager New Zealand, said the decision not to operate the flights was part of normal operations.
“During the low season we regularly make ad hoc changes to our flight schedules to meet market demand and ensure we are optimising the performance of the route during the low season,” Turcotte said.
“We will work with affected customers to re-accommodate their travel requirements.”
Wellington Airport spokesman Greg Thomas said it was not unusual for airlines to change schedules when considering low and high season.
“We are happy with the performance of the service and have received positive feedback on the vast improvement in connectivity that Singapore Airlines has provided to Asia and onwards to Europe.”
Brent Thomas, commercial director for House of Travel, said it was not unusual for airlines to make changes to schedules between seasons.
“Ultimately the airlines will decide where they can get the best use of their aircraft because these are expensive pieces of machinery and the airlines need to determine where they can get the best returns.”
A slight change in frequency did not mean a service was in jeopardy, Thomas said, however because of the organisation involved and the potential disruption to customers, changes suggested demand was low.
“These kind of decisions, where they adjust schedules, certainly aren’t taken lightly,” Thomas said.
The Singapore Airlines service has been in the headlines, both for its improved connectivity to Asia, the fact that it is the first scheduled wide-bodied service from Wellington, and the support the airline received to bring it here.
When the service was confirmed, Wellington’s then Deputy Mayor Justin Lester said the short time on the tarmac in Canberra meant the service would cut the time it took to get from central New Zealand to Asia by at least 90 minutes.
In the following days documents emerged showing Wellington Regional Economic Development Agency could provide up to $800,000 a year in marketing support towards the service, for 10 years.
Shortly after flights commenced, it emerged that Wellington City Council generated almost no paperwork in the decision to agree the subsidy, prompting calls from councillors to rein in chief executive Kevin Lavery’s delegated authority over spending.
