Until a few years ago, a fall of -4.3% in passenger numbers in a December, a peak season travel month, would be a calamity for an airline.

But for Singapore Airlines, and for that matter any of its competitors, such a fall in December 09 compared to 08 is encouraging, considering that it was down by more than one fifth in customers for much of the worst of the global financial crisis.

Of the key metrics for the month, tabulated below, the airline says “Passenger demand continued to reflect the recovery trend in the global economy.” Note that air freight rose by 5.7% in tonne kilometres, a sharp up tick in a measure some analysts regards as a more significant indication of economic trends than the more seasonal behaviour of passenger traffic.

Singapore Airlines recently reinstated daily frequency on its Singapore-Newark polar Manhattan transfer service too, not only the world’s longest non-stop passenger service, but a finely tuned indication of the demand for business travel between SE Asia and the world’s financial capital.