In the face of rising Middle East competition and high costs, Singapore Airlines Cargo is to park another 747-400F freighter.
The aircraft will be put into storage in in Victorville, California in June and under current plans will remain out of service until May 2014. It will be the second freighter aircraft placed in temporary storage. The first was in December 2012.
“Fuel prices remain high and we continue to see weakness in the air cargo market due to industry-wide overcapacity, which has put pressure on rates,” said SIA Cargo President, Tan Kai Ping.
Airfreight uplift by Asia’s carriers continues to slide. SIA’s decision – and comments about “over-capacity” – are a clear swipe at the success of Middle East carriers such as Emirates and Etihad, both of which are enjoying global growth in airfreight traffic.
“We will continue to monitor market conditions closely and make further capacity adjustments as required.”
SIA Cargo will have an operational fleet of 11 747-400Fs once the second freighter is put into storage.
