Genting Cruise Lines celebrated its silver anniversary on board Genting Dream in Singapore on December 14, commemorating 25 years since the first sailing of Langkapuri Star Aquarius from Singapore in 1993.
Founded a quarter of a century ago as Star Cruises, Genting Cruise Lines is a pioneer of cruising in Asia and introduced ships designed specifically for the region’s more relaxed cruise market where guests can enjoy a variety of leisure activities and dining options unbound by the rigid schedules commonly found on other ships.
Over the past 25 years, the company has welcomed more than 6.5 million guests on board its fleet through over 7,500 ship calls in Singapore.
In the last 12 months, Genting Dream, the only ship on a year-round deployment in the city, welcomed about 400,000 cruise passengers, of whom 60 per cent were tourists, helping cement Singapore as the port with the most number of international cruise passengers in Asia, according to the cruise company.
Among recent developments at the company, Dream Cruises was created in 2015 and 2016 to cater specifically to the growing premium segment in Asia, with the completion of the Marina Bay Cruise Centre in Singapore and clear Chinese policy to promote cruising.
The acquisition of Crystal Cruises in 2015 also helped Genting Hong Kong capitalise on the growing global demand. Through significant investment by Genting Cruise Lines, Crystal has introduced two new cruise options – Crystal Expedition Yacht Cruises and Crystal River Cruises – and is reaching new heights with Crystal Luxury Air.
Looking forward to the next 25 years, Genting Cruise Lines aims to build a fleet of technologically advanced cruise ships for its three brands, having bought its own shipyards in Germany, the MV Werften.
The first of a fleet of luxurious 20,000 gross ton Endeavor Class expedition vessels will be delivered to Crystal Cruises in 2020, followed in succession by the first of a fleet of 200,000 gross ton Global Class ships for Dream Cruises in 2021, 67,000 gross ton Diamond Class ships for Crystal Cruises in 2022 and innovative Contemporary Class ships for Star Cruises in 2023.
With lower fuel prices and strong economic growth, the global airline industry net profit is expected to hit US$35.5 billion in 2019, slightly ahead of the US$32.3 billion expected net profit in 2018 which saw profitability squeezed by rising costs, according to IATA forecasts.
It is expected that 2019 will be the 10th year of profit and the fifth consecutive year for airlines to deliver a return on capital to investors.
“We had expected that rising costs would weaken profitability in 2019. But the sharp fall in oil prices and solid GDP growth projections have provided a buffer. So we are cautiously optimistic that the run of solid value creation for investors will continue for at least another year. But there are downside risks as the economic and political environments remain volatile,” said Alexandre de Juniac, IATA’s director general and CEO.
The 2019 industry outlook is based on an anticipated average oil price of US$65 per barrel, lower than the US$73 recorded in 2018, following the increase in US oil output and rising oil inventories.
Fuel is expected to account for 24.2% of the average airline’s operating costs, an increase from 23.5% forecast for 2018.
Meanwhile, passenger traffic (RPKs) is expected to grow 6% in 2019, outpacing the forecast capacity (ASKs) increase of 5.8%, and remains above the 20-year trend growth rate. This in turn will increase load factors and support a 1.4% increase in yields. Passenger revenues, excluding ancillaries, are expected to reach US$606 billion (up from US$564 billion in 2018).
Asia-Pacific carriers are expected to report a US$10.4 billion net profit in 2019, up from US$9.6 billion in 2018, with net profit per passenger projected to be US$6.15 (3.8% net margin). Lower fuel costs, low levels of fuel hedging and strong regional economic growth are supporting profitability in 2019 in this region, according to IATA.