Unfortunately for Tony Davis, he has caused considerable embarrassment to Singapore Incorporated. Its status as a transportion hub is vital to its economic interests and anything which rocks the boat, such as large numbers of angry travellers who can't get to where they want to be, doesn't go down well.
Full page advertisments in the local press by a Malaysian company, making fun of an airline in which the Singapore government and Singapore airlines have a considerable share holding must be causing a few red faces amongst the ruling elite.
Tony wanted to reduce his pilot costs and decided that the global financial crisis provided a good opportunity with a plausible reason for a pay cut and an expected oversupply of tech crew depressing the job market.
When that didn't turn out as planned he tried to plug the gap with cut price Indonesian pilots. That wasn't very successful, and now he has had to bite the bullet and bring in contract pilots from Europe who will be recieving nearly US$18 000 a month into their offshore accounts if they if they stay close to the flight time limits.
Staff morale has obviously been affected with turnover of captains believed to be nudging 60% so far this year. First officers with enough time to move on, but not enough to take advantage of the captain shortage and swap seats, are also reported to be leaving.
Talk down at the pub suggests Hong Kong Airlines despite all the negative comments on the Fragrant Habour forum is the destination of choice, with Jetstar Asia following behind.