Changi Airport Group and Xiamen Airlines sign new partnership

SINGAPORE, 7 February 2018 – Changi Airport Group (CAG) and Xiamen Airlines have signed a second Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to grow network connectivity and passenger traffic between Singapore and China.

The MOU was inked today by Mr Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s Managing Director for Air Hub Development, and Mr Zheng Congming, Director, Passenger Marketing & Sales Committee, Xiamen Airlines. Also present at the ceremony were Mr Lee Seow Hiang, Changi Airport Group’s Chief Executive Officer, and Mr Che Shanglun, Chairman, Xiamen Airlines.

The renewal of partnership follows a successful first MOU signed in 2015 between CAG and Xiamen Airlines, and builds on the cooperation established over the past three years.

Under the MOU signed on Wednesday, CAG will be working with Xiamen Airlines to increase the frequency of existing services, explore opportunities to establish new city links, and conduct joint campaigns to grow the passenger traffic between the two countries.

Healthy growth in passenger numbers since signing of first partnership

Between 2014 and 2017, Xiamen Airlines registered a healthy three-year CAGR of 12% for passenger traffic at Changi Airport, and was the third largest Chinese carrier at Changi in 2017. The carrier currently operates four daily services between Singapore and China, to the cities of Dalian, Fuzhou, Xi’an and Xiamen.

Xiamen Airline’s subsidiary, Hebei Airlines, also launched a daily service to Shijiazhuang (via Hangzhou) last year, establishing a new city link for Singapore in China. Together with Hebei Airlines, the two carriers now offer more than 6,000 one-way weekly seats from Singapore to the six destinations. With more than 420,000 passengers travelling to and from these Chinese cities last year, traffic has increased by almost 50% since 2014.

Joint marketing partnerships

CAG and Xiamen Airlines have also rolled out joint marketing campaigns to promote travel between Singapore and China, with travel seminars organized in Fuzhou, Xi’an, Xiamen and Zhengzhou. These seminars were conducted to raise the awareness of Singapore’s travel attractions as well as Changi Airport’s facilities and services for travel partners. To grow inbound traffic to Singapore, radio advertisements were also launched in Dalian and Hangzhou.

Exclusive retail and dining promotions at Changi Airport were also offered to passengers travelling on Xiamen Airlines in the past three years, with thousands of redemptions made during this period.

Mr Lim Ching Kiat, Changi Airport Group’s Managing Director for Air Hub Development said, “We are excited to continue on this journey with Xiamen Airlines, whom we have enjoyed a close working relationship with in the past three years. We look forward to sustaining the growth achieved by working hand-in-hand with the airline to step up service frequencies and provide greater options for passengers. This will include continuing our joint marketing efforts to promote the routes we have to travellers from both countries.”

Additional services for Chinese New Year

Xiamen Airlines and Hebei Airlines will also be launching an additional 101 services between Singapore and China in February and March, to cater to the increased demand for flights during the festive period. This translates to an additional 17,300 seats during this period.

China is Changi Airport’s third largest country market, with 6.3 million passengers travelling between the two countries last year, growing 12% year-on-year compared to the year before. Singapore is now connected to 34 cities[1] in China, with more than 350 weekly services to these destinations by 13 airlines.

[1] Three new Chinese city links were recently established in 2017 – Harbin, Shijiazhuang and Yantai.