Owning an airport services operator rather than an airline would appear to make most sense right now.
Heavyweights Emirates and Singapore Airlines have just announced vastly reduced profits, while Cathay Pacific has warned that its annual results won’t look that compelling given the impact of high fuel costs.
Yet ground services operator Dnata, part of the Emirates Group, last week announced its highest ever profit in 52 years of operation.
And in Singapore, SATS Ltd said gateway services revenue improved 9.4% to S$602.7 million in 2011-12, led by increased flights and passengers handled.
Despite rising costs, the SATS Group earned an operating profit of S$48.3 million, 10% higher than a year ago.
