Changi Airport Group (CAG) honoured its top airline partners at the Changi Airline Awards 2013 held at the Pan Pacific Hotel Singapore where a total of 24 awards across six categories were presented to the airline community. The annual awards ceremony celebrates the partnership of airlines operating at Singapore Changi Airport and their contributions towards the growth and development of Singapore’s vibrant and world-class air hub.
Among the award-winning airlines, India’s Jet Airways was named Top Airline by Growth in Passenger Carriage (South Asia). Jet Airways currently operates 42 weekly services between India and Singapore, with two daily services each to Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. In 2013, it registered a strong 27 per cent growth in passenger carriage compared to a year ago.
The airline’s growth has also been spurred by an increase in demand for travel to and from Chennai and Mumbai during the year – a second daily service was added for these cities in August and November respectively. These new services provided passengers travelling out from the Indian continent convenient and seamless connections to Singapore, and onwards to the rest of Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand.
Lee Seow Hiang, CEO, Changi Airport Group, said in his address at the award ceremony that despite the challenges of the present-day operating environment, CAG remained confident about the longer term potential of air travel in this region. “Changi Airport sits in the middle of a vibrant aviation market, rich in growth opportunities. The long-term prospects for the large economies of China, India and Indonesia remain attractive and demand for business and leisure travel will continue to rise.”
Lee reiterated CAG’s mantra of planning ahead to ensure capacity to support future growth. “Changi East, Terminal 4 and Project Jewel epitomise CAG’s belief in the strong fundamentals of the Changi Airport air hub. These projects are our commitment to ensure there is sufficient capacity to secure Changi’s success as a world-class airport and a global air hub for many, many more years. They are also the ultimate proof of our confidence in the collective future of Changi and its airline partners.”
Sagar Naik, Regional Business Development Manager (SEA) & Country Manager for Singapore, Jet Airways (India) said, “Jet Airways has seen tremendous growth over the years in the Singapore market due to the strong connectivity from various Indian cities via our gateways in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. Singapore is an attractive destination for Indian travellers due to the vast variety of activities as well as its safe and secure environment. With the increase in capacity, we see further room for growth in traffic between Singapore and India. Singapore serves as an important gateway for Jet Airways to other destinations across Asia Pacific. We are extremely pleased to be honoured as one of Changi Airport’s valued airline partners. We look forward to working even more closely with CAG to provide a memorable travel experience to all our passengers. We are also deeply appreciative of Changi’s commitment in facilitating our growth in Singapore.”
