COST-SAVING initiatives will be rolled out to help airlines and passengers save some S$180 million over the next two years, as well as to encourage more airlines to leverage on Changi Airport as a hub.
Airport operator Changi Airport Group (CAG) will cut the transfer and transit passenger service charge from S$9 to S$3 from July 1. In addition, CAG will reduce the franchise fees for ground handlers by 20 per cent as well as extend some of the rebates and concessions under the Growth and Assistance Incentive programme beyond this year.
"We hope this will also encourage airlines to strengthen your Singapore-based operations," said Senior Minister of State for Finance and Transport Josephine Teo, speaking at the Changi Airline Awards 2015 on Thursday.
Changi Airport celebrated its leading airline partners at the awards - themed SG50 - honouring the carriers which have helped bolster Singapore's status as an air hub.
British Airways, which won Partner of the Year award, announced plans to beef up capacity by converting its thrice-weekly Airbus A380 service between Singapore and London to a daily one from December this year.
This will effectively ramp up its total weekly seat capacity on the route by 15 per cent. It is already the largest European carrier serving Changi, carrying nearly 470,000 passengers in 2014.
In addition, it plans to launch its newly refurbished lounge at Changi's Terminal 1 later this year.
Keith Williams, executive chairman of British Airways, said: "Singapore is a strategically important route for us, acting as the hub for all of our flights between the UK and Australia."
Singapore Airlines (SIA), Tigerair, SilkAir, Jetstar Asia and - for the first time - Cathay Pacific emerged as the top five airlines by the number of passengers carried at Changi Airport last year.
The air cargo rankings remained largely consistent, with SIA Cargo topping the list. It was followed by FedEx Express, Cathay Pacific, EVA Airways and China Airlines.
Carriers which won awards for chalking up the biggest growth in passenger traffic (by region) last year included KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for Europe, Emirates for Middle East and Africa, Scoot for Singapore, and Garuda Indonesia for South-east Asia.
In the cargo category, those which posted strong growth last year were All Nippon Airways, Scoot, Air India, Cathay Pacific and China Airlines.
And in a nod to the airlines that were among the first to operate in Singapore, an SG50 pioneer airlines exhibition was set up as part of the awards to highlight the achievements of the 12 pioneer carriers, which included SIA, Air France, Air India, Japan Airlines, Lufthansa, Malaysia Airlines and Qantas.
CAG also paid tribute to the late Lee Kuan Yew, who made the farsighted decision to move the airport from Paya Lebar and also played a key role in the development of Changi Airport.
"Mr Lee created a common vision upon which we could promote the symphony of partnership and collaboration that has become the bedrock of Changi Airport's success," said CAG's chief executive Lee Seow Hiang.
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