Twiggs: Let's do the sums on what an entry level SQ flight attendant would have earned in the last FY:
Basic salary of $1500 * 17 months = $25,500
2000 hours of flying: 2000 * 9 = $18,000
Meal allowances: 80 nights * 120 = about $10,000
Overnight allowances: I don't know
Total excluding overnight allowances: $53,500
My former colleague who quit SQ after flying for them for 2 years to join our company said she took a substantial paycut by joining corporate at an entry level grad position, and back then we were on about S$50ish k per year.
So I wouldn't even dream of calling SQ cabin crew underpaid, though this year they probably had far fewer hours since flights were cancelled.
If Jetstar is paying less than half of what SQ is (even after all the hard selling through inflight sales), why is it that people join them? There are plenty of jobs in Singapore that pay more than $2000 a month fixed with guaranteed 13 months of payment or more.