Singapore Airlines is cautious about expanding capacity despite reversing a first-half loss and ending the year to March 31 with net income of S$216 million. The airline, which slashed capacity by 11% in the past financial year amid a global business downturn, will add just 2% capacity to its network in the year to March 31, 2011. CEO Chew Choon Seng at a post-results briefing said that while there was recovery in all sectors, including in business class, the market remains fragile and yields are not back to pre-crisis levels.

Profits at Singapore Airlines hit S$278 million ($197 million) in the fourth quarter ended March 31, an almost six-fold jump from a year earlier, on the back of a recovery in the aviation business and lower fuel hedging losses. Revenue increased marginally by 0.4% to S$3.3 billion, while expenditure fell by 7.6% to S$3.1 billion.

Asia-Pacific airlines carried more people and cargo in April than a year earlier despite the week-long flight disruptions caused by the Icelandic volcanic eruption. International passenger numbers hit 15.2 million last month, up 11.7%, while traffic measured in revenue-passenger kilometers grew by 8.9%. Total seat capacity increased by a modest 1.2% which helped push load factor up 5.6 percentage points to 78.4%.