B4 HOME WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 2015

NEWS ANALYSIS

Vistara launch heralds better year for SIA

Spore carrier finally has foothold in for the last few years the airline
has focused on improving service
for results to show.
UOB Kay Hian analyst K. Ajith
India; key milestones being reached levels with plans for new lounges,
for example.
said: With airlines in the region
having taken steps to address the
It has also invested in aircraft overcapacity issue with more
By KARAMJIT KAUR profits. In November, the airline retrofitting. seats and flights than demand can
AVIATION CORRESPONDENT reported a 55.5 per cent plunge in SIA is also boosting partner- take we should start to see
profits to $126 million for the six ships with like-minded carriers to yields stabilising, which is good
THE launch of Vistaras inaugural months ended Sept 30. seal codeshare deals that would al- for SIA and other carriers as
New Delhi-Mumbai flight on Fri- With rivals including Middle low it to offer its customers many well.
day marked a significant achieve- Eastern and other Asian carriers more destinations and cities with- The airlines impending launch
ment for co-owner Singapore Air- closing the gap with new products out having to commit aircraft and of its premium-economy product
lines (SIA). and improved service levels, SIA other resources. later this year is also a step in the
It also heralded the beginning has been criticised by some for Vistaras inaugural New Delhi-Mumbai flight on Friday was a key achievement for To battle against low-cost car- right direction, he said.
of what should be a better year for not moving quickly enough to up SIA, which owns 49 per cent of the premium carrier. PHOTO: TAMIL MURASU riers, SIA launched its long-haul This will cater to travellers
the Singapore carrier. its own game. budget arm, Scoot, in 2012 and who do not mind paying more
After two decades of trying to Challenges will remain but this continues to grow its stake in typically about 30 to 40 per cent
enter the India market and two year should be better, chief execu- future are now taking shape. travel policies as businesses be- short-haul player Tigerair. than economy-class fares for ex-
earlier failures, SIA, which owns tive officer Goh Choon Phong said Much has been written and came more cost conscious. Scoot will take delivery of the tra room and comfort, but do not
49 per cent of the Indian premi- in his annual message to staff said by commentators about diffi- The proliferation of budget car- first of its 20 new Boeing 787 want to pay business-class fares.
um carrier, had finally gained a which was carried in the airlines culties that we face. There are, in- riers in the region did not help. Dreamliners later this month. Mr Ajith said: We will have to
foothold in one of the worlds fast- in-house newsletter. deed, both industry-wide chal- Forced to slow growth, the air- Mr Goh said: While it has tak- wait and see if the airline ends up
est-growing air travel markets. For one thing, crude oil prices lenges and those specific to us, line introduced a slew of initia- en time, we are now at the stage cutting seats in economy or busi-
The rest of Vistara is held by In- are at their lowest level in more given the especially competitive tives to manage excess crew, in- where key milestones are being ness to make room for premium
dian conglomerate Tata. than five years at under US$50 a landscape of the South-east Asian cluding freezing recruitment of ca- reached... The extensive action be- economy, though I think it would
It was a happy day for SIA, barrel. aviation market. dets in 2012. A year later, SIA let ing taken to prepare for the future most likely be the former, which
which has been battered over the Mr Goh said: We are starting After years of flying high, the go of 76 expatriate pilots who is vital for our continued success. should mean yield benefits.
last few years by cut-throat com- the year with a renewed sense of 2008 global financial crisis dealt were on three-year contracts. As one would expect, significant SIA is by no means out of the
petition from other full-service optimism, as key elements of SIA a severe blow. It turned the in- Pilots were also asked to consid- effort and resources are required woods yet, but it is in a better
airlines and budget carriers SIAs wide-ranging strategy to dustry upside down and, in some er unpaid leave. to pursue the numerous strategic place today than a few years ago.
putting pressure on yields and better position the group for the cases, forever changed corporate To turn the business around, initiatives, and it will take time karam@sph.com.sg

Driverless cars to be Test route

test is to advance research on the
decision-making process of au-
tonomous vehicles, such as how a
tested on public roads MEDIA
CIRCLE
driverless car behaves at a junc-

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BIOPOLIS RTS WN RO

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LINK PO AD Germany, Japan and the US are

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BY MARCH, a small fleet of driver- and Technology (Smart), A*Star among the first countries to allow

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less cars will start plying the and ST Kinetics. NORTH autonomous vehicles to be tested

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BUONA BIOPOLIS DRIVE

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one-north area as Singapore joins The Straits Times understands Tanglin Trust on public roads.
VISTA

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RT
an exclusive but growing group of that LTA is also reaching out to School While semi-automated vehi-

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DRIVE
AY

NO
countries testing autonomous ve- car manufacturers that are work- cles are already available at show-
IS W

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hicles on public roads. ing on autonomous technologies, ON rooms, fully-automated models
POL

The Land Transport Authority such as Daimler and Nissan. E-N are unlikely to be on sale until at
OR
BIO

BIOPOLIS ROAD H AVENUE

(LTA) and JTC Corp have ear- Dr James Fu, project leader of TH RT least 2020. Industry experts said
AD

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marked a 6km test route in the re- Smarts autonomous vehicle sec- CENTRAL ES this is mainly because of legisla-
E-N

one-north Park EXCHANGE CE

ON
PORTSDOWN

search hub for the trial. tion, said although research in the NT tion lagging behind technological
Although the circuit consists field is being carried out by sever- GREEN advancements.
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NT

mainly of low-traffic roads, there al parties, there is not much shar-

N RIS LTA chief executive Chew Men
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KS one-north
ESC
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are stretches with moderately ing of information. He said: AC Leong said the trial in one-north
RR Residences
TH

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heavy traffic, such as Portsdown Were not sure how exactly oth- BA will give us the opportunity to
WAY
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Fusionopolis
ON

Road and Ayer Rajah Avenue. ers are doing this, but were try- GA learn and understand the techni-
JA
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Some likely participants have ing to see how we can do it. TH cal capabilities and infrastructural
AYE

ION Driverless
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been sounded out for the one- Smart will be using an electric vehicle segment requirements necessary for auto-
AYE
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year exercise, which may be ex- Mitsubishi iMiEV that has been Fusionopolis WA mated vehicles to operate safely
RO

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ON

One
AD

tended. These include the Singa- retrofitted to be self-driving. Source: LTA and JTC on public roads.
pore-MIT Alliance for Research Dr Fu said one objective of the ST GRAPHICS CHRISTOPHER TAN

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