SIA Group to Ramp Up Asian Flights After Jetstar Asia's Exit

It also plans to hire 100 pilots, 200 cabin crew from retrenched Jetstar Asia staff

- Kok Yufeng

National carrier Singapore Airlines (SIA) and its budget arm, Scoot, will ramp up flights to various Asian destinations after Singapore-based low-cost carrier Jetstar Asia ceases operations on July 31.

On June 13, SIA Group also said in a statement that it will create positions for retrenched Jetstar Asia employees across its airlines, and hire 100 pilots and 200 cabin crew.

Jetstar Asia operates about 180 weekly services at Changi Airport and carried about 2.3 million passengers in 2024, accounting for around 3 per cent of the airport's total traffic. The airline announced on June 11 that it would close, citing rising costs and competition.

To fill the gap, Scoot plans to launch new flights to Okinawa in Japan and Labuan Bajo in Indonesia — both destinations that Jetstar Asia serves exclusively from Changi Airport. The links would have been lost with the closure of the Qantas subsidiary.

In response to The Straits Times' queries about whether SIA Group will step in on some of the 16 routes that Jetstar Asia's exit will impact, an SIA spokesperson said it will adjust its flight schedules and network to support the demand for air travel in the region.

This is subject to regulatory approval and alignment with the group's airline partners, SIA said on June 12. Its spokesperson said full flight schedules will be made public in due course.

If all goes to plan, Scoot will start increasing its flights to Bangkok in August, to 39 services per week, up from the current 35. This will go up to 42 flights a week from Oct 26.