SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) is confident the Australian government will allow it to fly the Australia-US route and is making plans for the service next year, SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng said Wednesday.
"On plans, we are going to provide for this in next year's operations," Chew said, referring to SIA's outlook for 2006 which included servicing the Sydney-Los Angeles route.
"We are quite confident that the Australian government will do the right thing and grant SIA access to the Sydney-Los Angeles route," he said at a media conference announcing SIA's earnings for the financial year ending March.
Singapore Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said last week Australian aviation officials will visit the city-state this month for further talks on granting SIA the right to fly the route, currently serviced by Australian flag carrier Qantas.
Yeo and Australian Deputy Prime Minister John Anderson had said they hoped to "finalise a roadmap" for a final agreement by the middle of the year.
In a partial agreement in 2003, Qantas was granted unrestricted rights to fly into Singapore's Changi airport and onwards, giving the airline greater access to European destinations.
Qantas, however, successfully lobbied the Australian government to deny SIA similar access to fly from Australia to the United States, which is one of the Australian carrier's most profitable routes.
"From the comments and the reactions of ministers and officials in Australia, I would say that it is not so much a question of if... SIA will get the rights but a question of when and what level of access we will be granted," Chew said.
"We know Australians have a reputation for fair play. Qantas flies extensively beyond Singapore (while) Singapore Airlines has not a single flight beyond Australia at the moment."
Chew said the Australia-US route "cries out for more competition", but stressed that ultimately the decision was in the hands of the Australian government.
He also welcomed a reported interest by Australian discount carrier Virgin Blue to join the competition but said it "should not come at the expense of denying access to Singapore Airlines."
SIA has a wide array of aircraft to use if it is allowed to service the route, including Airbus' A380 double-decker plane which it expects to bring into service in the final quarter of next year, Chew said.

05/11/2005 13:41 GMT