Singapore Airlines braces for another record loss on virus

Slow growth: A Singapore Airlines A350-900ULR Airbus in flight. Its shares have slumped 43% this year, among the worst performers on a Bloomberg gauge of carriers in the Asia-Pacific region. — AFP

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Ltd (SIA), consistently voted one of the world’s best airlines by Skytrax, is poised for another hefty quarterly loss after the coronavirus left it flying a tiny fraction of its usual number of passengers.

The airline warned this month that it expects a material operating loss in its fiscal first quarter. It already suffered a record net loss of S$732mil (US$530mil) in the three months through March, when it was hit by fuel-hedging losses as well as a collapse in demand triggered by the outbreak. That left the carrier with its first annual loss in its 48-year history.