Singapore Airlines and its pilots represented by the local Air Line Pilots Association unit have agreed on deeper pay cuts to help stave off further job cuts at the flag carrier as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the agreement, salaries for re-employed captains and first officers will be cut by 60 percent and 50 percent respectively, the Straits Times newspaper reported, citing an internal circular. This includes a 10 percent reduction to the monthly variable component of their pay, the newspaper said. Singapore Airlines announced on 10 September that it was cutting at least 4,300 positions across its group due to the virtual shutdown of international aviation.
An airline spokesman said Sunday (20 September) that the agreement, which covers all remaining pilots in Singapore Airlines and affiliate SilkAir, will take effect from 1 October 2020 and “will help to mitigate further job losses for our pilots”. The airline also said it expects to operate under 50 percent of its capacity at the end of fiscal year 2020-21 versus pre-COVID levels. Industry groups also forecast that passenger traffic will not return to previous levels until 2024.
Currently, the airline added, it operates only around 8 percent of the passenger capacity compared to pre-COVID levels. In August 2020, the SIA Group carried only around 40,000 passengers compared to 3.3 million a year before. “Relative to most airlines in the world, the SIA Group is in an even more vulnerable position as it does not have a domestic market that will be the first to see a recovery. In order to remain viable in this uncertain landscape, the Group’s airlines will operate a smaller fleet for a reduced network compared to their pre-COVID operations in the coming years,” the airline said.
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