<div><p>Singapore Airlines (SIA) said Thursday it will reinstate daily all-business-class flights to New York on January 18 as demand for the service begins to pick up.</p><p>SIA in February cut the frequency of the 100-seat Airbus A345 trips to five times a week, saying fewer people wanted premium travel as a result of the global economic slowdown.</p><p>"There's increased demand, that's why we are increasing the flights," said a spokeswoman for the airline, which is reputed in the industry for its business and first class services to North America and Europe.</p><p>Regional aviation analyst Jim Wong of Nomura Securities in Hong Kong said SIA's latest move reflected a larger trend as Asian economies lead the rest of the world in recovering from the crisis.</p><p>"The clienteles of a lot of Asian airlines are home-based," he told AFP by telephone. "So if the Asian economies are recovering, the Asian airlines will recover that much faster."</p><p>A sharp recession in Singapore ended in the third quarter and other economies in the region, notably powerhouses China and India, are posting robust growth.</p><p>Asia-Pacific economies are expected to grow 6.3 percent in 2010, according to a recent UN survey.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=65135809&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

Copyright 2009  <a href="http://www.afp.com/english/links/?pid=copyright">AFP Asian Edition</a></div></div>