Asian low-cost, long-haul carrier, Scoot, has confirmed plans to expand its offering in Taiwan with the launch of a regular link between Singapore’s Changi International Airport and Kaohsiung. The new flight will complement the carrier’s existing link into the country’s capital city Taipei.
News of Scoot’s plans to grow its network in Taiwan were first revealed by our Airline Route schedules blog earlier this month (see ‘Scoot Proposes New Japan Routes via Taiwan / Thailand from July 2015’). The carrier plans to launch the three times weekly link between Singapore and Kaohsiung from July 9, 2015 using its newly delivered Boeing 787 Dreamliners.
The airline made its debut in Taiwan in September 2012 and has already boosted its operations on the highly competitive route between Singapore and Taipei to ten times weekly. It currently competes with China Airlines, EVA Air, low-cost carriers Jetstar Asia, Tiger Airways and Tiger Airways Taiwan and complements the full service activities of its parent Singapore Airlines.
It has successfully secured a strong share of O&D traffic on this route over the past two years, growing to a 15.1 per cent market share in 2013 and up to 19.3 per cent last year. Over the same period Singapore Airlines has also boosted its position with its share growing from 15.6 per cent in 2013 to 17.0 per cent in 2014, highlighting the key role the two carriers can play alongside one another in certain markets which enjoy strong business, premium leisure and tourist demand.
"Singaporeans simply love Taiwan, but there's so much more to Taiwan than just Taipei. Scoot is therefore delighted to launch a direct service between Singapore and Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second city. With Scoot's unbeatable airfares and our brand-new Boeing 787 Dreamliners, there's no better reason to get outta here and enjoy Kaohsiung's food and night-markets, its historical sites such as the Old City of Zuoying, or the surrounding countryside including beautiful Kenting National Park." said Campbell Wilson, chief executive officer, Scoot.
The Singapore – Kaohsiung market is notably underserved with China Airlines currently offering just a twice weekly link on the route. Scoot’s sister carrier, SilkAir, Singapore Airlines’ regional division, has provided the group with previous experience on the city pair with flights between May 2007 and February 2009. The low-cost proposition is likely to stimulate additional demand as well as
The operational schedule for the new route announced by Scoot last week are identical to the times revealed by Airline Route earlier this month. However, the company’s press release made no mention of plans to continue the Singapore – Kaohsiung link on to Kansai International Airport, albeit the long layover in the Taiwanese city does provide scope for the onward sector.
In our analysis we look more closely at passenger demand between Singapore and Taiwan’s two largest cities. According to data from Sabre ADI, two-way O&D demand between Singapore Changi (SIN) and Taipei Taoyuan (TPE) has increased 146.3 per cent over the past ten years, while demand between Singapore Changi (SIN) and Kaohsiung (KHH) has grown 27.2 per cent.
The arrival of low-cost carriers in the Singapore – Taipei market has played a key role in stimulating annual demand beyond the one million passenger milestone in each of the past two years.
Related Content
