[ValdisSeroff]

Singapore Airlines suspends flights to Vancouver

The Associated Press
February 15, 2009

SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines Ltd. said it will suspend flights to Vancouver, Canada starting in April as the global economic slowdown erodes demand for travel.

The carrier flies to Vancouver through Seoul, South Korea three times a week. The suspension is indefinite, and the last flight will be on April 25.

"The decision to suspend service is most regrettable, as Singapore Airlines has served Canada for over 20 years," the airline said in a statement Saturday. "However, the economic conditions and performance on the route have been badly affected by the global economic downturn."

Singapore Airline said last month that it planned to cut flights to the U.S., Europe and Asia as demand dried up. The airline said last week its October-December profit fell 43 percent as it flew 4.2 percent fewer passengers.

Singapore is facing its worst recession since splitting from Malaysia in 1965 as exports plummet. Gross domestic product shrank a seasonally adjusted, annualized 16.9 percent in the fourth quarter, and the government expects GDP in 2009 to contract as much as 5 percent.