Airlines around the world are reporting a surge in business as tourists travel again. The airline won total net profit of $32.4 billion last year, up 18% from the previous year, but passenger numbers hit a new high of 4.8 billion.
In Southeast Asia, airlines such as Vietjet, Thai Airways and Garuda Indonesia experienced double-digit revenue growth last year. But the most impressive performance came from not from the carrier, but from the company that keeps its feet on the ground.
Singapore’s SATS offers a range of services, including food preparation, air cargo handling and passenger services, tripling revenues in 2024 and lifting the company to No. 93, a 134 jump in the Southeast Asia 500 this year. SATS was the biggest climber on this year’s list, with no newcomers included.
Much of SATS’ revenue growth comes after the completion of the acquisition of Worldwide Flight Services (WFS), the global air cargo logistics provider. SATS purchased the company for 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion at current exchange rates) in a transaction announced in early 2023.
SATS’ acquisition of WFS has made the Asian-centric company more international players. WFS is the world’s largest freight processing company and a major player in both Europe and the US.
Total SATS-WFS has a combined reach of over 215 locations worldwide, covering trade routes that are responsible for more than half of the world’s air freight volume.
SATS’ history dates back to the early days of commercial aviation in Singapore, beginning as the ground division of Malayan Airlines. The airline was later split into Singapore Airlines (SIA) and Malaysian airline systems. SIA then established a separate business in 1972, a ground processing business.
Currently, SATS is the leading air cargo, ground handling and in-flight agency service provider at Changi Airport, Singapore’s largest civilian international airport. SATS has since expanded its footprint across Asia, forming joint ventures in markets such as mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Indonesia.
With the latest finance Report In the quarter ending in March 2025, SATS reported 13% year-on-year revenues reaching Singapore dollars of $5.8 billion ($4.53 billion at current exchange rates).
“Our cargo volume is consistently surpassing IATA’s global growth benchmark, demonstrating its ability to leverage its expansion network to secure new contracts,” SATS said in its annual report.
company the purpose Thanks to the larger network, growth in Asia-Pacific passenger volume and Singapore’s role as an aviation hub to achieve revenue of $8 billion ($6.2 billion) by the end of fiscal year 2029.
