Published April 4, 2009

SIA seeking shorter work month for pilots: union

3 days unpaid leave per month for captains; 4 for first officers

By NISHA RAMCHANDANI

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SINGAPORE Airlines (SIA) has proposed a shorter work month for pilots - with captains taking three days of no-pay leave per month and first officers taking four days - according to Air Line Pilots Association Singapore president P James. And discussions are said to be still going on between the union and SIA.

'A reduction in flying hours results in cost savings for the company.' Captain James

The move is one of several measures SIA is looking at to weather the economic downturn.

The average basic salary of a captain is around $10,000 a month. Pilots also get additional pay depending on the number of hours they fly. For a 70-hour month of flying, captains can receive a further $3,850.

With SIA cutting 11 per cent of its capacity this financial year in response to flagging travel demand, pilots are likely to see a deduction in their pay packet from lower flying hours alone.

'A reduction in flying hours results in cost savings for the company,' Captain James said. The union also said that unlike pilots, managers, ground-staff and cabin crew are being asked to take only one-day leave a month, with managers and ground staff having the choice of taking the one day either as annual leave or unpaid leave.

For pilots and cabin crew, it will be unpaid leave due to over- staffing. SIA has about 2,000 pilots and 7,000 cabin crew.

In response to a query from BT, SIA spokesman Stephen Forshaw said: 'We are in discussions with our pilots' union and have a range of proposals.' He declined to elaborate on these proposals.

Faced with slumping passenger demand, SIA has said it is cutting capacity 11 per cent and grounding 17 of its 100-plus aircraft in the financial year ending March 31, 2010.

Earlier this week, SIA announced that it has implemented a shorter working month for senior management, a scheme that will be rolled out to other managers, as well as ground staff and cabin crew, from May 1.

The date for extending the scheme to ground staff and cabin crew is contingent on the scheme applying to all employees across the company, SIA said.

So far, in-principle agreements have been signed with two of the airline's three in-house unions - the Singapore Airlines Staff Union and the Airline Executive Staff Union.

SIA is not the only carrier looking to contain costs as airlines battle a severely challenging operating environment.

India's Jet Airways is reportedly looking at cutting staff costs after slashing capacity 12 per cent last year, while according to news reports out of Dubai yesterday, Emirates is offering its 12,000 cabin crew the option of between one and six months' unpaid leave.