Scoot, the low-cost arm of Singapore Airlines Group, said it is fully confident in the growth potential of China's air travel market, boosted by the country's robust demand for traveling abroad. The budget carrier plans to further expand its network and increase flight frequencies in China.

The low-cost airline is a foreign carrier that has resumed most of its flights to China since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, Scoot operated direct flights connecting Singapore and 19 Chinese mainland cities, standing as the carrier that operated the highest number of flights connecting the two countries. Now, it has resumed flights to 17 Chinese mainland cities, accounting for 20 percent of its global network.

After China resumed quarantine-free international travel in January, its outbound travel market is on track to a steady recovery. In January, Scoot transported about 2,500 passengers weekly from Chinese mainland cities to Singapore. Currently, the number exceeds 18,000 passengers weekly, the airline said.

"We have seen a steady growth of the passenger load on round-trip flights connecting China and Singapore," said Lee Yong Sin, general manager of Scoot China and vice-president of sales at Scoot.

"During the May Day holiday this year, passenger load topped 90 percent. In June, the number exceeded pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Based on such positive data, we have further raised our expectations of passengers," Lee said.

For Scoot, most of its passengers have been business travelers, students and families traveling with children. Family trips are on the rise, as parents make full use of the summer holiday to bring their children to Singapore.

Among every five travelers of Scoot, there is one Generation Z consumer — those born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s. An apparent change since the pandemic is that more Chinese passengers are traveling independently by Scoot, instead of traveling with groups, it said.

Currently, Scoot operates daily flights that connect Singapore with Tianjin and 10 weekly flights connecting Singapore with Nanjing, Jiangsu province. Passenger demand for flights between Singapore and Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, and Qingdao, Shandong province, has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels.

In China, Scoot has carried out closer cooperation with online travel agencies such as Trip.com Group, Qunar and Fliggy. It is considering using social media platforms, such as Xiaohongshu or short-video app Douyin, to further increase its exposure and interact with more young consumers.

Scoot took to the skies in 2012 and merged with TigerAir Singapore in 2017, retaining the Scoot brand. Now, it has a fleet size of over 50 aircraft, including widebody B787 and single-aisle A320 family aircraft. The average age of its fleet is around six years. Next year, it plans to introduce nine E190-E2 aircraft from Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer.

For the financial year 2022-23, Scoot reported record revenue and profit, buoyed by record passenger loads. The airline's operating profit reached a record S$148 million ($111.3 million) for the full year ending March 31, reversing three straight years of losses.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) recently announced an expected strengthening of airline industry profitability in an upgrade of its outlook for 2023. The global airline industry's net profits are expected to reach $9.8 billion, and some 4.35 billion people are expected to travel this year, which is closing in on the 4.54 billion who flew in 2019, according to a forecast by IATA.

"Airlines' financial performance in 2023 is beating expectations. Stronger profitability is supported by several positive developments. China lifted COVID-19 restrictions earlier than anticipated. Jet fuel prices, although still high, have moderated over the first half of the year," said Willie Walsh, IATA's director general.