Fuel costs, Air India losses push SIA into Q1 red despite record revenue
Record passenger and cargo revenue failed to offset a 78.5 per cent jump in net fuel costs and higher losses from Air India, sending the airline group to a S$76 million quarterly loss.
A Singapore Airlines Airbus A380-800 aircraft takes off from Zurich airport on Apr 9, 2019. (File photo: Reuters/Arnd Wiegmann)
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SINGAPORE: The Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group on Tuesday (Jul 28) announced a net loss of S$76 million (US$58.9 million) in the first quarter of 2026, as soaring fuel costs linked to the Middle East conflict and a higher share of losses from Air India outweighed record revenue.
Operating profit fell S$299 million to S$106 million, the airline said, driven by a S$991 million jump in net fuel costs due to the Middle East conflict. The group’s net result was further weighed down by a S$42 million higher share of losses from Air India.
Net results declined by S$262 million to a loss of S$76 million, compared with a profit of S$186 million a year ago.
This marks the first quarterly deficit for SIA Group since the COVID-19 pandemic ended, according to Reuters.
The airline also reported record revenue of S$5.71 billion in Q1, thanks to a 19.3 per cent (S$924 million) year-on-year rise in revenue driven by strong demand.
The group benefited from “robust demand for air travel”, with passenger revenue up 18.6 per cent to S$4.58 billion. SIA and Scoot carried a record 10.9 million passengers, up 6.3 per cent from a year ago.
However, group expenditure rose by 27.9 per cent to S$5.6 billion, mainly due to a sharp increase in net fuel cost to S$2.25 billion.
SIA group also took delivery of one Airbus320neo and three Boeing 737-8 aircraft in Q1, bringing its operating fleet to 220 passenger and freighter aircraft as of Jun 30.
SIA owns a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India, which reported a record US$2 billion loss for the last financial year and has been under scrutiny since a plane crash that killed 260 people in 2025.
The airline’s owner Tata Sons said on Monday that its turnaround could take up to a decade, extending the timeline for the carrier’s turnaround.
Tata Sons chairman attributed the longer turnaround time to persistent supply-chain disruptions in key components, the need to overhaul legacy systems, culture, fleet, and efforts to build a larger technical and airline workforce.
SIA said on Tuesday that, together with Tata Sons, it remains committed to Air India’s long-term transformation and described its investment as a key pillar of its multi-hub strategy.
It also said that “tangible progress has been made in Air India’s fleet renewal and aircraft retrofit programmes, on-ground and in-flight service enhancements, and operational performance”.
In May, SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong said Air India’s transformation was a “long game” with “no shortcut”.
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Source: CNA/rk(ac)
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