Airlines like Emirates, Qatar, and Etihad can pay lower salaries as there is no income tax which is a hidden subsidy. Also most of their ground staff and cabin crew are from poor third world countries.
Mid Eastern airlines might have the benefit of gross=net salary because of the no income tax, but they pay the difference by having to provide housing. I really doubt the gross personnel costs are that much lower in the Mid East.
They can also offer free accommodation for pilots due to low building costs and land values.
So housing is "free" eh? See my comment above.
Even SQ cannot compete with the likes of Qatar, Etihad and Emirates with their hidden cost base.
So? Are you telling us SQ's salaries are so high? SQ T&C's are notoriously low for a national flag carrier, especially in relation to the sky high cost of living in SIN. Ever been to SIN?
It must be hard to compete when you are paying the entire cost of ab initios. I wonder what the cost is per pilot.
Already debunked.
Desert does not have the same value or cost as land in Singapore or London Heathrow or New York...
Yes, maybe the land is cheap, but what about construction materials? EVERYTHING needs to be imported, every nail, every brick, every piece of steel, every bag of cement!
I've seldom seen such poor 3rd world thinking and reasoning in one thread! People thinking that housing is "free" and that the cost of a few ab initios (great tax benefit, as discussed earlier) is going to cripple a huge airline.