SIA freezes hiring of cadet pilots

Singapore Airlines (SIA) has frozen cadet-pilot recruitment and cut flying hours for junior pilots amid a slowdown in business that has led to a surplus manpower.

The last cadet intake was early this year and it is not decided when SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides will resume hiring, told The Straits Times. He did not say how many were recruited during the previous exercise, but noticed that there is a smaller number than in previous years.

The usual is about 120 per year.

SIA, which has about 2,400 pilots, suspended last hiring of cadet pilots in 2009 after the global financial crisis.

The current slowdown, which caused full year profit for the 12 months to end-March to plunge 69 percent to S $ 336 million (US $ 275 million), also has consequences for those already flying.

Many junior pilots, especially those on the fleet of Boeing 777, have reduced their average flying time of more than 60 hours per month to less than 50, The Straits Times has learned.

This has hit their pockets, since about 30 percent of their total take-home pay comes from flying allowances.

Ionides declined to comment on service hours, citing commercial confidentiality, but pilots The Straits Times spoke to said the net effect of a junior pilot, who up to S $ 8,000 (US $ 6,500 deserves) per month, is a reduction of the reward of a few hundred dollars.

The pilot surplus, which has already takes about a year, is also due to delays in new aircraft, such as the Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Airbus 350s.

Ionides said the airline will consider several factors, including new aircraft deliveries, before deciding when to lift the freeze on hiring cadet pilots.

The global slowdown has also other premium long-haul carriers such as Cathay Pacific and Qantas.

The International Air Transport Association said recently that it expects that global airlines to earn a collective profit of US $ 4.1 billion (S $ 5 billion) this year, a sharp decline in the u.s. last year reached $ 8.4 billion.

Captain Mok Hin still, 59, President of the Air Line Pilots Association of Singapore (Alpa-S), said that the Union works with the SIA management to find ways to help affected by the delay of the pilots.

In March, SIA offered its pilots an option pay for up to two years non-Volunteer leave.

The scheme is underway, said Ionides, who did not reveal how many had entered.

Capt Mug said: "our side also, we encourage our members to explore this option."

Alpa-S is also the management about the possibility of moving from pilots of the flagship carrier at subsidiaries that are still, as regional arm SilkAir and budget offshoot Scoot, Capt Mok said. This is not the usual practice for the different airline units, which usually hire and fire independently.

Capt Mug said: "We spend a lot of money and energy training and development of our pilots, which is a valuable resource. By moving them to sister airlines that need pilots, we get to keep our pilots within the Group and not risk losing them to other airlines. "

"We must work together to manage this unfortunate situation, which we hope will improve soon," he added.