Singapore Airlines says bookings still firm

SINGAPORE, May 14 (Reuters) - Singapore Airlines (SIAL.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) (SIA), the world's second-biggest airline by market value, said on Wednesday that its forward bookings were still firm amid economic uncertainty.

"We have seen some softening for discretionary travel out of the U.S. but not for the corporate sector as yet," Singapore Airlines Chief Executive Chew Choon Seng told a briefing.

SIA, 55-percent owned by state investment firm Temasek [TEM.UL], posted on Tuesday a smaller-than-expected 21 percent fall in quarterly profit and warned of slower demand due to the ongoing global market turmoil amid record fuel costs. [ID:nSIN214030]

(Reporting by Daryl Loo & Jan Dahinten)