News

By Michael Clarke

PASSENGERS scrambling to return to the UK from destinations hit by SARS are helping to sustain flight frequencies, airlines have claimed.

Carriers operating services to Hong Kong, China and Toronto claim inbound load factors are sky high as customers cut short their trips.

Cancellations from the UK include Cathay Pacific cutting four of its 18 weekly flights to Hong Kong, Singapore Airlines reducing its Manchester service to four times a week and BA going from double daily to daily to Hong Kong.

But carriers to Beijing and Toronto, including British Airways, Air Canada and Air China, are operating full schedules.

Air China said most of its inbound flights from Beijing are full until the end of the first week in May. Average inbound loads are 93%, compared to 50% outbound.

Sales and marketing manager Richard Burgess said: “Inbound traffic is really holding us up at the moment, but it is a natural progression as things grind to a halt. We will have to wait and see what happens in a few days.”

The only change BA is implementing on its thrice-weekly Beijing service and double-daily Toronto flight is to overnight crew in different locations.