(July 27): Singapore Airlines Ltd reported its biggest quarterly net income ever and said it expects demand for air travel on all routes to remain robust through the summer peak season as it expands capacity.

Net income in the three months through June climbed 98% from a year earlier to S$734 million (RM2.5 billion), the carrier said in a statement Thursday (July 27). Revenue rose 14% to S$4.5 billion. This all came despite flight capacity being lower than in 2019, reflecting the positive impact of higher airfares on the company’s financial performance.

Passenger load factor, which indicates how full planes are, rose 9.9 percentage points to a record 88.9%. Singapore Airlines and unit Scoot carried 8.4 million customers during the quarter. Operating profit rose 36% to S$755 million.

“Passenger traffic and load factors improved across all markets, with the year-on-year traffic growth of 49% outpacing the capacity expansion,” Singapore’s national carrier said, adding that demand was strong through the midyear school holidays and early summer travel season.

Airlines globally are reporting stellar earnings, including US carriers Delta Air Lines Inc and United Airlines Holdings Inc, showing that the post-pandemic travel rebound is persisting even against a backdrop of higher living costs and other economic pressures that have weighed on many industries.

In the depths of the Covid crisis, with no domestic market in which to operate, Singapore Airlines cut pay and thousands of jobs, renegotiated aircraft contracts and deferred plane deliveries to put a lid on costs. To help it through, the company raised S$22.4 billion since April 2020.

Singapore Airlines said Thursday it is in a good position to tackle macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainties, as well as increased competition. Cargo demand is likely to remain soft in the near term, however, due to inflation and weak economic conditions.

“Inventory overhang and the easing of supply chain constraints have also resulted in a modal shift towards sea freight,” it said.

Singapore Airlines, which recently regained its status as the world’s best airline in the annual Skytrax awards, had 199 aircraft in its fleet at the end of June. Of those, 192 were passenger planes and the rest were freighters. During the quarter, the group resumed flights to seven more destinations in China, including Wuhan, where the Covid crisis began.

The airline has forged a number of partnerships to strengthen its grip on the Asian market and widen its reach beyond its home of 5.9 million people.

It is seeking a 25.1% stake in Air India Ltd by merging local venture Vistara into the Indian flag carrier, for a firmer footing in one of the world’s fastest-growing air travel markets. In May, it announced a plan to coordinate schedules and fares with PT Garuda Indonesia, building on a similar pact with Malaysia Airlines Bhd. It also signed agreements with Vietnam Airlines JSC and Thai Airways.

The rebound from Covid enabled the carrier to recently redeem 50% of a S$6.2 billion 2021 mandatory convertible bond, while it also redeemed a S$3.5 billion 2020 convertible bond last year.

Singapore Airlines shares have rallied 36% this year, among the best performers on the 29-member Bloomberg World Airline Index.