Singapore Airlines looks to COVID-19 vaccine delivery booster

Singapore Airlines is positioning itself to answer the logistical challenge of taking a COVID-19 vaccine to the world.

It was doubtful whether the Singapore Airlines A380s parked in Australia’s red centre will ever fly again. Picture: Dan Gerich

The pandemic that is costing Singapore Airlines $300m a month could ultimately bolster the carrier’s bottom line.

In an inspired move, the carrier has positioned itself for one of the largest and most important ­logistical challenges in recent history — the safe transport and distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

The airline first saw the need for such time and temperature-sensitive shipments in May, and set up an internal taskforce to ensure readiness.

As part of the certification process, a range of active tracking devices have been approved for use on board aircraft to provide vaccine producers with complete end-to-end visibility, including temperature readings, throughout the journey.

Singapore Airlines executive vice-president commercial, Lee Lik Hsin, said the move would cement the airline’s position as one of the most significant players in air cargo globally.

“We have always seen cargo as an important part of our business so it was absolutely critical that we made ourselves available to carry the vaccine, when the vaccine is ready and mass production takes place,” Mr Lee said.

“It is certainly going to generate significant volumes to supply the whole world and, in the early days at least, it’s more likely to be carried by air than by ship because of the time sensitivity and speed to market.”

For Singapore Airlines, like all other international carriers, a safe and effective COVID vaccine cannot come soon enough after nine months of limited revenue and ongoing asset costs.

In September, the carrier announced that 2400 people would leave the company, with flights not expected to exceed 50 per cent of pre-COVID capacity until the 2022 financial year.

Mr Lee said the monthly cash burn was about $300m, which had led to the airline securing $15bn in equity capital from shareholders and borrowing $2bn.

“We think we are OK,” he told The Australian. “We think we will be able to ride through this pandemic and still be able to come out the other side and that’s from a capital survival perspective.”

A Singapore Airlines flight attendant at Changi International Airport terminal in Singapore. In September, the carrier announced that 2400 people would leave the company. Picture: AFP

Despite his optimism, it was doubtful whether seven A380s parked in Australia’s red centre would ever fly again with Singapore making the decision to reduce its superjumbo fleet from 19 to 12.

Attention was also being given to the on-board experience, to focus more heavily on health and safety.

The result was more innovation, with passengers now able to use their mobile phones to operate in-flight entertainment, and access electronic menus and other reading material.

“We are continuing to get customer feedback even when there’s very few customers travelling, but as borders reopen and more customers start to travel I believe we will get new feedback and we will continue to evolve our service proposition,” Mr Lee said.

Unlike Qantas, which has made it clear a COVID-19 vaccine will be required before boarding flights, Mr Lee said Singapore Airlines was open to a range of possibilities for the resumption of international travel.

These included a vaccine and quarantine-free travel between countries with low rates of COVID infection, despite the recent postponement of a Singapore-Hong Kong bubble.

“We want to keep all of our ­options open,” he said.

“The Singapore government has been very clear in these times that it wants to engage with more countries and regions to create more travel bubbles and we are fully supportive of that as one of the stakeholders in the game. Hopefully that will also provide a means to recover mass travel.”

Throughout most of the pandemic, Singapore Airlines has continued to operate flights to 40 per cent of its network, including 37 destinations in 25 countries and territories.

Mr Lee said despite load factors in the teens, the airline wanted to maintain network con­nectivity and a global presence.

“We want to be there and be available,” he said.

“We want to make sure that people do have options, and the 40 per cent point coverage supports that objective quite well.”