"
Recall meeting one of my F/O's (now senior Captain) from SQ in 1996 in ZRH, and he mentioned that those from OZ did not stay all that long. I wonder why?
From memory ALL of the ex-dispute Captains completed their first contract, with the majority of the younger ones signing on for a 2nd, and in some cases a 3rd renewal. Ask
Blue Eagle, he was there longer, and more recently than I, and is more
au fait with the numbers.
The F/O's (around 96 - mainly Aussies, but a handful of ex-Eastern Yanks as well) were hired on
expatriate terms, meaning they got extra benefits such as the accomodation allowance, schooling for the kids, an expat "allowance", and a higher salary than those employed on national terms. The contract period was for 5 years following checkout, and was bonded, however SIA released us from the bond after approx. 3 years (because of intensive recruiting of young expats - Brits, Americans, Australians, Norwegians, etc) with the option to leave, or finish the contract (or convert to local terms). Many left early to join airlines that were offering a faster career progression, rather than stay with SQ which stated a minimum of 5 years on local terms would be required, before being considered eligible for command. As
Blue Eagle says, about 1/2 a dozen decided to convert to local terms.
There were
very few in this group who did a "runner" (where are you,
Slasher?) - the early release option legally allowed us to leave by mutual agreement.
Personally, I enjoyed MY time (5 yrs and 7 mos) there, gained some good experience and enjoyed the company of the other pilots.
Hope this clears up more of the misconceptions you seem to have conjured up,
411.
Tinass if you'd like to view the scab list from 1989 I'll refer you to a website, or send you a copy of the little black book with the names.
We've gone right off the subject of the topic here btw.