SQ pilots under political pressure (merged)
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I find it astounding that under the current climate,Cathay is giving back the pay cuts imposed during the Sars period plus a year end bonus.That really is a fillip for company/ union relations.
How dod they do it i wonder?
How dod they do it i wonder?
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As quoted by Lee Kuan Yew:
"there is going to be a few broken heads"
Lee Kuan Yew is an idiot, a communist under the cloak of democracy.
Have ya all not yet come to the realization that Singapore is a dictatorship?
If ya all go slow, the thought of losing money might give him a heart attack. Oh oh.
"there is going to be a few broken heads"
Lee Kuan Yew is an idiot, a communist under the cloak of democracy.
Have ya all not yet come to the realization that Singapore is a dictatorship?
If ya all go slow, the thought of losing money might give him a heart attack. Oh oh.
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Make a wild guess who she's talking about and what just might happen...
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/col...23805,00.html?
DEC 6, 2003
INSIGHT: Militant unions are going out of fashion
By Chua Mui Hoong
THINKING ALOUD
THE air traffic controllers thought they were on to a sure thing.
Nearly 13,000 of the 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organisation (Patco) in the United States went on strike to force the federal government to give in to their demands for higher wages, a shorter work week and better retirement benefits.
This was in August 1981. Then-president Ronald Reagan threatened to sack all those on strike if they did not return to work in 48 hours. Negotiations broke down. The strikers called his bluff, expecting to see the aviation industry come to a standstill.
Instead, the US federal authorities put in a contingency plan, roping in the military to help direct air traffic, while asking airlines to curtail scheduled flights.
Travel was disrupted and airlines, losing US$30 million a day, laid off workers. Public sentiment was against the strikers, whose pay was higher than national average.
In the end, the strikers were sacked, the leaders charged under laws that prevented federal employees from going on strike, and the union was fined US$1 million per day by federal judges for the strike period.
Patco was decertified.
This wasn't the first time such a union-government showdown took place in the US.
In 1943, coal miners went on strike in the middle of the Second World War, ignoring personal pleas from then-president Franklin Roosevelt to heed the national interest and go back to work to support the war economy, which was fuelled by coal.
Union chief John L. Lewis' famous reply: 'The President of the United States is paid to look after the national interest. I am paid to look after the interests of the miners.'
Public opinion turned against the union. As reported in Peter Drucker's book Post Capitalist Society, that strike marked the beginning of the decline of unionism in America.
In Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, fed up with militant unions that disrupted business, then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher diminished the reorganised trade union structures to clip their wings.
Many people instinctively want unions to be adversarial and combative like those above.
It's a natural emotional response: Employers have the weight of capital behind them. How else can unions fight for workers' interests, except to battle management, threaten strikes and take industrial action, and haul errant employers to court?
Hence a spate of criticism directed at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in Singapore, which values consensus and peaceful industrial relations.
This instinctive wish to see someone take on the mighty employer, is probably the reason why there's quite a bit of public sympathy for the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), after it was rapped by four government ministers for ousting its executive committee, reportedly for being too 'soft' with management.
Some of the sympathy may have arisen from the sentiment that ministers shouldn't interfere in a private association's leadership tussle. But some observers may also wish to see the Alpa-S challenge management and get a showdown.
But the sober reality is that unionism is not a spectator sport.
More to the point, workers who think an adversarial union best represents their interests, are dead wrong.
As the above examples show, history is littered with the corpses of once-powerful militant unions who lost public favour, caused capital to flee and then were hung out to dry by governments.
The Anglo-Saxon model of unionism has been an adversarial one. Many Singaporeans grow up thinking this is the way unions in democratic countries should behave.
It doesn't help that it's striking unions who make the headlines, not peaceful ones. These give a picture of militancy being the norm.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Look beyond those summer transport strikes in France, the efforts by German unions to block social reform, and the high-profile South Korean rail and truckers' strikes.
In many countries, unions are quietly plugging away on consensual efforts to protect workers.
In much of Europe, the concept of social partnership - akin to Singapore's tripartism - is well-entrenched.
Unions in Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands, to take just a few examples, consider themselves social partners with employers and government, responsible for protecting workers' interests within the framework of ensuring sustainable livelihoods for all.
It isn't just Singapore's NTUC that does seemingly inexplicable things such as support wage moderation.
In the Netherlands, unions supported wage moderation in two economic downturns: In 1982 when one in 25 manufacturing firms went bankrupt and 300,000 jobs were lost, and in 1993. When growth stalled last year, social partners discussed remedies, chief of which was again wage moderation.
In Ireland, despite a legacy of industrial battles, the unions sat down with employers and the government and developed a social pact that has been widely credited with creating the industrial peace pivotal to the success of the so-called Celtic Tiger in the 1990s.
Militancy could even be going out of fashion.
A report on the European Industrial Relations Observatory website ( www.eiro.eurofound.ie ) surveying industrial action between 1998 and last year, concluded that these were 'low in historical terms'.
Unions as social partners in these countries have equal status with employers and government. They are consulted on wage policy.
Tripartite arrangements institutionalise the relationship. They safeguard workers' interests on issues such as gender pay inequality, discrimination and promoting the participation of disabled people in the workforce.
In Singapore, management and government must treat unions as equal, not junior, partners. Workers' right to form unions, and unions' right to negotiate pay and work conditions without interference, must be protected by law.
Only when workers believe a peaceable union movement has as much say at the bargaining table as the other partners, will they give up urges to egg on unions to take a confrontational stance.
E-mail: [email protected]
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/col...23805,00.html?
DEC 6, 2003
INSIGHT: Militant unions are going out of fashion
By Chua Mui Hoong
THINKING ALOUD
THE air traffic controllers thought they were on to a sure thing.
Nearly 13,000 of the 17,500 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organisation (Patco) in the United States went on strike to force the federal government to give in to their demands for higher wages, a shorter work week and better retirement benefits.
This was in August 1981. Then-president Ronald Reagan threatened to sack all those on strike if they did not return to work in 48 hours. Negotiations broke down. The strikers called his bluff, expecting to see the aviation industry come to a standstill.
Instead, the US federal authorities put in a contingency plan, roping in the military to help direct air traffic, while asking airlines to curtail scheduled flights.
Travel was disrupted and airlines, losing US$30 million a day, laid off workers. Public sentiment was against the strikers, whose pay was higher than national average.
In the end, the strikers were sacked, the leaders charged under laws that prevented federal employees from going on strike, and the union was fined US$1 million per day by federal judges for the strike period.
Patco was decertified.
This wasn't the first time such a union-government showdown took place in the US.
In 1943, coal miners went on strike in the middle of the Second World War, ignoring personal pleas from then-president Franklin Roosevelt to heed the national interest and go back to work to support the war economy, which was fuelled by coal.
Union chief John L. Lewis' famous reply: 'The President of the United States is paid to look after the national interest. I am paid to look after the interests of the miners.'
Public opinion turned against the union. As reported in Peter Drucker's book Post Capitalist Society, that strike marked the beginning of the decline of unionism in America.
In Britain in the 1970s and 1980s, fed up with militant unions that disrupted business, then-prime minister Margaret Thatcher diminished the reorganised trade union structures to clip their wings.
Many people instinctively want unions to be adversarial and combative like those above.
It's a natural emotional response: Employers have the weight of capital behind them. How else can unions fight for workers' interests, except to battle management, threaten strikes and take industrial action, and haul errant employers to court?
Hence a spate of criticism directed at the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in Singapore, which values consensus and peaceful industrial relations.
This instinctive wish to see someone take on the mighty employer, is probably the reason why there's quite a bit of public sympathy for the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), after it was rapped by four government ministers for ousting its executive committee, reportedly for being too 'soft' with management.
Some of the sympathy may have arisen from the sentiment that ministers shouldn't interfere in a private association's leadership tussle. But some observers may also wish to see the Alpa-S challenge management and get a showdown.
But the sober reality is that unionism is not a spectator sport.
More to the point, workers who think an adversarial union best represents their interests, are dead wrong.
As the above examples show, history is littered with the corpses of once-powerful militant unions who lost public favour, caused capital to flee and then were hung out to dry by governments.
The Anglo-Saxon model of unionism has been an adversarial one. Many Singaporeans grow up thinking this is the way unions in democratic countries should behave.
It doesn't help that it's striking unions who make the headlines, not peaceful ones. These give a picture of militancy being the norm.
But nothing could be further from the truth.
Look beyond those summer transport strikes in France, the efforts by German unions to block social reform, and the high-profile South Korean rail and truckers' strikes.
In many countries, unions are quietly plugging away on consensual efforts to protect workers.
In much of Europe, the concept of social partnership - akin to Singapore's tripartism - is well-entrenched.
Unions in Italy, Sweden, Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands, to take just a few examples, consider themselves social partners with employers and government, responsible for protecting workers' interests within the framework of ensuring sustainable livelihoods for all.
It isn't just Singapore's NTUC that does seemingly inexplicable things such as support wage moderation.
In the Netherlands, unions supported wage moderation in two economic downturns: In 1982 when one in 25 manufacturing firms went bankrupt and 300,000 jobs were lost, and in 1993. When growth stalled last year, social partners discussed remedies, chief of which was again wage moderation.
In Ireland, despite a legacy of industrial battles, the unions sat down with employers and the government and developed a social pact that has been widely credited with creating the industrial peace pivotal to the success of the so-called Celtic Tiger in the 1990s.
Militancy could even be going out of fashion.
A report on the European Industrial Relations Observatory website ( www.eiro.eurofound.ie ) surveying industrial action between 1998 and last year, concluded that these were 'low in historical terms'.
Unions as social partners in these countries have equal status with employers and government. They are consulted on wage policy.
Tripartite arrangements institutionalise the relationship. They safeguard workers' interests on issues such as gender pay inequality, discrimination and promoting the participation of disabled people in the workforce.
In Singapore, management and government must treat unions as equal, not junior, partners. Workers' right to form unions, and unions' right to negotiate pay and work conditions without interference, must be protected by law.
Only when workers believe a peaceable union movement has as much say at the bargaining table as the other partners, will they give up urges to egg on unions to take a confrontational stance.
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Re: DEC 6, 2003, INSIGHT: Militant unions are going out of fashion
By Chua Mui Hoong
THINKING ALOUD
“A report on the European Industrial Relations Observatory website surveying industrial action between 1998 and last year, concluded that these were 'low in historical terms'.”
- Well yes, but this is because unions have legal rights to withhold their members’ labour, following a laid down procedure, as a final resort. Employers know this and as a result, their minds are wonderfully concentrated around the bargaining table. Employees in turn know that they have this last resort power and hence the generally mature contemporary European trades union memberships tend to favour the fruitful negotiations made possible by this capability rather than, as an opening shot, exercising this power for its own sake.
- In Singapore, no such rights exist, as a matter of enshrined PAP policy, hence bargaining between the parties is, unsurprisingly, one sided.
“Unions as social partners in these countries have equal status with employers and government. They are consulted on wage policy.”
- Precisely so, but this happy situation has only arisen following significant past conflicts. when unions have demonstrated they mean business by withholding their members’ labour.
"In Singapore, management and government must treat unions as equal, not junior, partners. Workers' right to form unions, and unions' right to negotiate pay and work conditions without interference, must be protected by law."
- Absolutely so, hence the bold scrip. The only people in Singapore who do not agree with the above statement is the membership of the oligarchy which runs the place.
“Only when workers believe a peaceable union movement has as much say at the bargaining table as the other partners, will they give up urges to egg on unions to take a confrontational stance.”
- Again, I think that most reasonable people in Singapore would agree. Please include this last part in the memo to the oligarchy.
By Chua Mui Hoong
THINKING ALOUD
“A report on the European Industrial Relations Observatory website surveying industrial action between 1998 and last year, concluded that these were 'low in historical terms'.”
- Well yes, but this is because unions have legal rights to withhold their members’ labour, following a laid down procedure, as a final resort. Employers know this and as a result, their minds are wonderfully concentrated around the bargaining table. Employees in turn know that they have this last resort power and hence the generally mature contemporary European trades union memberships tend to favour the fruitful negotiations made possible by this capability rather than, as an opening shot, exercising this power for its own sake.
- In Singapore, no such rights exist, as a matter of enshrined PAP policy, hence bargaining between the parties is, unsurprisingly, one sided.
“Unions as social partners in these countries have equal status with employers and government. They are consulted on wage policy.”
- Precisely so, but this happy situation has only arisen following significant past conflicts. when unions have demonstrated they mean business by withholding their members’ labour.
"In Singapore, management and government must treat unions as equal, not junior, partners. Workers' right to form unions, and unions' right to negotiate pay and work conditions without interference, must be protected by law."
- Absolutely so, hence the bold scrip. The only people in Singapore who do not agree with the above statement is the membership of the oligarchy which runs the place.
“Only when workers believe a peaceable union movement has as much say at the bargaining table as the other partners, will they give up urges to egg on unions to take a confrontational stance.”
- Again, I think that most reasonable people in Singapore would agree. Please include this last part in the memo to the oligarchy.
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During the flurry of intimidatory statements pushed out in the Singapore media last week by various ministerial mouthpieces, plus SM Lee himself and all directed at the Alpa-S pilots of SIA, implication was made of the disastrous effect that the low cost carriers, including the startup ValueAir, would wreak on the bottom lines of both SIA and majority shareholder, Temasek Holdings (govt). To my great surprise (though really it shouldn’t have been), I now find that the vast majority of ValueAir’s shares are in fact owned by the self same Temasek Holdings and that the carrier’s debut is being accelerated to quickly establish ValueAir well ahead of any competition. The view “Through the Looking Glass” continues to be as opaque as ever Alice saw and Lewis Carrol intended.
PS. ValueAir's business plan now seems to have changed from low cost carrier to full(ish) service airline. Curioser and curioser.
PS. ValueAir's business plan now seems to have changed from low cost carrier to full(ish) service airline. Curioser and curioser.
Last edited by jstars2; 8th Dec 2003 at 23:23.
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Is this for real? Or are they just faking it?
Even a blind man could have felt the low morale, and this meeting comes a whole week after SIA management is told to wake up...
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sin...24314,00.html?
DEC 9, 2003
SIA bosses meet union leaders
Low morale? Let's talk
The closed-door meeting tackles concerns over spate of resignations and staff morale, sources tell REBECCA LEE
SINGAPORE Airlines top brass met leaders from the five SIA unions yesterday for what sources said was a discussion on flagging morale at the national carrier.
The closed-door morning meeting, involving SIA chairman Koh Boon Hwee, chief executive Chew Choon Seng and union officials, was an indication that a recent spate of resignations has raised concerns among management.
It is not clear who initiated the talks, but The Straits Times understands that the meeting, which lasted a few hours, centred on the low morale among staff.
'The morale is very bad and all of us are concerned because we care about the company. The unions were called in to see how they can assist in this area,' a source said.
Morale has apparently been affected by the 5 to 16.5 per cent wage cuts which followed the Sars outbreak; the retrenchment of nearly 600 staff; and the release of another 145 on special retirement packages.
SIA's quick turnaround in the July-to-September quarter did not help matters because some employees felt this recovery warranted a restoration of their pay.
The national carrier made a profit of $306 million in that quarter, reversing a first-ever loss of $312 million in the previous quarter.
SIA has not indicated what its thinking on this is, except to say it will honour the June agreement with unions to make a one-off lump sum payment to compensate for the wage cuts.
It has also not said whether pay cuts will be restored.
Even with the Government's intervention over escalating tensions between pilots and management - which saw bosses being told to improve on human-resource management - SIA could not say, when the press asked, what concrete plans it had to improve staff morale.
But yesterday's meeting was called to explore ways to get the airline out of the 'rut', a management source said, referring to what he saw as a startling number of resignations in recent months.
The unions also wanted to find a way to resolve the issue without government intervention, the source added.
It is understood that simmering unhappiness and the lure of higher paying jobs have led to more than 10 SIA pilots resigning recently, with another 12 having secured jobs elsewhere. More than five pilots have also left SilkAir, SIA's regional wing. Unions say at least 11 SIA aircraft engineers and several cabin crew have also left, and that many more executives have quit.
A source said yesterday's meeting was 'very interactive', with both Mr Koh and Mr Chew reacting in a 'very positive way' and listening to the feedback from unionists.
At least two representatives were present from each of the five SIA unions: the SIA Staff Union; SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union; Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union; Air Transport Executives Staff Union; and Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore.
SIA would not comment on the discussion, but a spokesman said: 'We have regular meetings involving management and unions representing SIA staff.
'We have a commitment to continue to better communicate with SIA staff and their representatives. As a matter of principle, we do not provide a running commentary on this dialogue.'
Union representatives contacted also declined to comment on the meeting. It is understood that both sides agreed that they would not go public with the meeting or what was said.
SIA's problems have been in the spotlight recently, especially after last month's ouster of leaders of the pilots' union, which drew criticism from several ministers.
The election for the post of president is now under way and will end on Dec 19. But there will be no vote for the executive committee because only 17 candidates stepped forward for the 19 seats.
At the weekend, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said he did not think the lack of candidates was a result of pilots being scared off by the Government.
Instead, he attributed it to the fact that the election had been called suddenly.
He also dismissed talk about candidate Syed Abdul Kader, who is standing against pilots' union veteran Mok Hin Choon, being closely aligned with the National Trades Union Congress.
Even a blind man could have felt the low morale, and this meeting comes a whole week after SIA management is told to wake up...
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sin...24314,00.html?
DEC 9, 2003
SIA bosses meet union leaders
Low morale? Let's talk
The closed-door meeting tackles concerns over spate of resignations and staff morale, sources tell REBECCA LEE
SINGAPORE Airlines top brass met leaders from the five SIA unions yesterday for what sources said was a discussion on flagging morale at the national carrier.
The closed-door morning meeting, involving SIA chairman Koh Boon Hwee, chief executive Chew Choon Seng and union officials, was an indication that a recent spate of resignations has raised concerns among management.
It is not clear who initiated the talks, but The Straits Times understands that the meeting, which lasted a few hours, centred on the low morale among staff.
'The morale is very bad and all of us are concerned because we care about the company. The unions were called in to see how they can assist in this area,' a source said.
Morale has apparently been affected by the 5 to 16.5 per cent wage cuts which followed the Sars outbreak; the retrenchment of nearly 600 staff; and the release of another 145 on special retirement packages.
SIA's quick turnaround in the July-to-September quarter did not help matters because some employees felt this recovery warranted a restoration of their pay.
The national carrier made a profit of $306 million in that quarter, reversing a first-ever loss of $312 million in the previous quarter.
SIA has not indicated what its thinking on this is, except to say it will honour the June agreement with unions to make a one-off lump sum payment to compensate for the wage cuts.
It has also not said whether pay cuts will be restored.
Even with the Government's intervention over escalating tensions between pilots and management - which saw bosses being told to improve on human-resource management - SIA could not say, when the press asked, what concrete plans it had to improve staff morale.
But yesterday's meeting was called to explore ways to get the airline out of the 'rut', a management source said, referring to what he saw as a startling number of resignations in recent months.
The unions also wanted to find a way to resolve the issue without government intervention, the source added.
It is understood that simmering unhappiness and the lure of higher paying jobs have led to more than 10 SIA pilots resigning recently, with another 12 having secured jobs elsewhere. More than five pilots have also left SilkAir, SIA's regional wing. Unions say at least 11 SIA aircraft engineers and several cabin crew have also left, and that many more executives have quit.
A source said yesterday's meeting was 'very interactive', with both Mr Koh and Mr Chew reacting in a 'very positive way' and listening to the feedback from unionists.
At least two representatives were present from each of the five SIA unions: the SIA Staff Union; SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union; Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union; Air Transport Executives Staff Union; and Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore.
SIA would not comment on the discussion, but a spokesman said: 'We have regular meetings involving management and unions representing SIA staff.
'We have a commitment to continue to better communicate with SIA staff and their representatives. As a matter of principle, we do not provide a running commentary on this dialogue.'
Union representatives contacted also declined to comment on the meeting. It is understood that both sides agreed that they would not go public with the meeting or what was said.
SIA's problems have been in the spotlight recently, especially after last month's ouster of leaders of the pilots' union, which drew criticism from several ministers.
The election for the post of president is now under way and will end on Dec 19. But there will be no vote for the executive committee because only 17 candidates stepped forward for the 19 seats.
At the weekend, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said he did not think the lack of candidates was a result of pilots being scared off by the Government.
Instead, he attributed it to the fact that the election had been called suddenly.
He also dismissed talk about candidate Syed Abdul Kader, who is standing against pilots' union veteran Mok Hin Choon, being closely aligned with the National Trades Union Congress.
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DEC 9, 2003
SIA bosses meet union leaders
Low morale? Let's talk
The closed-door meeting tackles concerns over spate of resignations and staff morale, sources tell REBECCA LEE
“… At the weekend, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said he did not think the lack of candidates was a result of pilots being scared off by the Government.
Instead, he attributed it to the fact that the election had been called suddenly.”
- A quite remarkable statement in light of last week’s carefully planned, well spread and superbly orchestrated media rhetoric by ministerial mouthpieces plus SM Lee’s own invective, during which he intemperately revealed his personal antipathy towards the pilots of SIA and ominously threatened “broken heads”.
“… He also dismissed talk about candidate Syed Abdul Kader, who is standing against pilots' union veteran Mok Hin Choon, being closely aligned with the National Trades Union Congress.”
- Obviously when a stooge is planted he doesn’t come along with an admission of such!
SIA bosses meet union leaders
Low morale? Let's talk
The closed-door meeting tackles concerns over spate of resignations and staff morale, sources tell REBECCA LEE
“… At the weekend, labour chief Lim Boon Heng said he did not think the lack of candidates was a result of pilots being scared off by the Government.
Instead, he attributed it to the fact that the election had been called suddenly.”
- A quite remarkable statement in light of last week’s carefully planned, well spread and superbly orchestrated media rhetoric by ministerial mouthpieces plus SM Lee’s own invective, during which he intemperately revealed his personal antipathy towards the pilots of SIA and ominously threatened “broken heads”.
“… He also dismissed talk about candidate Syed Abdul Kader, who is standing against pilots' union veteran Mok Hin Choon, being closely aligned with the National Trades Union Congress.”
- Obviously when a stooge is planted he doesn’t come along with an admission of such!
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The real reason for wanting to look like a concerned employer?
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/top...24440,00.html?
DEC 10, 2003
SIA to start budget carrier
Tiger Airways set to take off next year with Europe's no-frills leader Ryanair among Singapore Airlines' partners
By Kelvin Wong
SINGAPORE Airlines will start a budget airline called Tiger Airways next year, in a joint venture that includes the shareholders of Ryanair, Europe's second-largest discount carrier.
The new carrier is expected to start flying in the second half of next year, to destinations within four hours of its home base, Singapore, said SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng yesterday.
The airline's decision will intensify competition in a market that already has Malaysia's AirAsia, which wants to fly here, and Singapore-based Valuair, which plans to take off next year.
Thai Airways is also considering a budget carrier.
But SIA is unperturbed. Said Mr Chew: 'The more the merrier and that is good for the consumer. And we are the fittest group.'
You're so modest, Mr Chew.
In giving an indication of what a passenger can expect on Tiger Airways, the Ryanair model is obvious.
Passengers will pay for food and drinks they want on board. Tickets will also be sold directly to customers via the Internet.
'So, buying a ticket just means getting a seat from point A to point B,' said Mr Chew, adding that details of the destinations, fleet size, type of aircraft and fares would be announced later.
But Ryanair's average fare of 40 euros (S$84) is a likely guide. Also, Tiger Airways will operate a fleet of single-aisle aircraft of one type.
Mr Chew did not rule out plying some SilkAir routes, 'but they will vie for different segments of the market'.
He foresees the new venture expanding the travel market, as low-fare carriers did in Europe and America.
Indeed, it was the success there that coaxed SIA to enter the market here. However, he noted that almost all attempts by full-service network airlines to operate wholly-owned low-fare carriers have been unsuccessful because 'completely different methods and procedures, marketing approaches and skills' are needed.
Hence, the decision to tie up with US-based Indigo Partners, which owns 24 per cent of Tiger, and the Ryan family's Irelandia Investments, which holds 16 per cent.
SIA's stake is 49 per cent but, together with Temasek Holdings' 11 per cent, Singapore has the lion's share.
At the press conference, Mr Chew was flanked by Ryanair founder Tony Ryan, Mr Bill Franke, Indigo Partners' managing partner, and Mr Charlie Clifton, Ryanair's former director of operations who will set up Tiger Airways in the coming months.
'The intention is to have a Singaporean CEO,' Mr Chew said.
SIA decided against using SilkAir as a budget carrier because 'to transform SilkAir with its methods, procedures all in place is going to be much harder than for us to have a green field start up'.
Meanwhile, SilkAir said it would suspend its twice-weekly flights to Chittagong, Bangladesh, from Jan 19.
Rival Valuair said that it had been expecting SIA's move 'for some time'.
Spokesman Jimmy Lau told The Straits Times: 'We welcome the competition. We just hope that we will compete on a level playing field.'
The venture was also welcomed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore as a move 'enhancing Singapore's position as an air hub'.
It has had preliminary discussions with Tiger Airways, which will have to apply for an Air Operator Certificate and then for air traffic rights.
As for the name, Mr Ryan said: 'Tiger is very reflective of Asia. It is a simple name.'
Mr Chew, whose T-shirt under his jacket carried the tiger head logo of the former Malayan Airways, saw it as a return to SIA's early history.
'Everybody liked the name Tiger... It's connected to our roots as well.'
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/top...24440,00.html?
DEC 10, 2003
SIA to start budget carrier
Tiger Airways set to take off next year with Europe's no-frills leader Ryanair among Singapore Airlines' partners
By Kelvin Wong
SINGAPORE Airlines will start a budget airline called Tiger Airways next year, in a joint venture that includes the shareholders of Ryanair, Europe's second-largest discount carrier.
The new carrier is expected to start flying in the second half of next year, to destinations within four hours of its home base, Singapore, said SIA chief executive Chew Choon Seng yesterday.
The airline's decision will intensify competition in a market that already has Malaysia's AirAsia, which wants to fly here, and Singapore-based Valuair, which plans to take off next year.
Thai Airways is also considering a budget carrier.
But SIA is unperturbed. Said Mr Chew: 'The more the merrier and that is good for the consumer. And we are the fittest group.'
You're so modest, Mr Chew.
In giving an indication of what a passenger can expect on Tiger Airways, the Ryanair model is obvious.
Passengers will pay for food and drinks they want on board. Tickets will also be sold directly to customers via the Internet.
'So, buying a ticket just means getting a seat from point A to point B,' said Mr Chew, adding that details of the destinations, fleet size, type of aircraft and fares would be announced later.
But Ryanair's average fare of 40 euros (S$84) is a likely guide. Also, Tiger Airways will operate a fleet of single-aisle aircraft of one type.
Mr Chew did not rule out plying some SilkAir routes, 'but they will vie for different segments of the market'.
He foresees the new venture expanding the travel market, as low-fare carriers did in Europe and America.
Indeed, it was the success there that coaxed SIA to enter the market here. However, he noted that almost all attempts by full-service network airlines to operate wholly-owned low-fare carriers have been unsuccessful because 'completely different methods and procedures, marketing approaches and skills' are needed.
Hence, the decision to tie up with US-based Indigo Partners, which owns 24 per cent of Tiger, and the Ryan family's Irelandia Investments, which holds 16 per cent.
SIA's stake is 49 per cent but, together with Temasek Holdings' 11 per cent, Singapore has the lion's share.
At the press conference, Mr Chew was flanked by Ryanair founder Tony Ryan, Mr Bill Franke, Indigo Partners' managing partner, and Mr Charlie Clifton, Ryanair's former director of operations who will set up Tiger Airways in the coming months.
'The intention is to have a Singaporean CEO,' Mr Chew said.
SIA decided against using SilkAir as a budget carrier because 'to transform SilkAir with its methods, procedures all in place is going to be much harder than for us to have a green field start up'.
Meanwhile, SilkAir said it would suspend its twice-weekly flights to Chittagong, Bangladesh, from Jan 19.
Rival Valuair said that it had been expecting SIA's move 'for some time'.
Spokesman Jimmy Lau told The Straits Times: 'We welcome the competition. We just hope that we will compete on a level playing field.'
The venture was also welcomed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore as a move 'enhancing Singapore's position as an air hub'.
It has had preliminary discussions with Tiger Airways, which will have to apply for an Air Operator Certificate and then for air traffic rights.
As for the name, Mr Ryan said: 'Tiger is very reflective of Asia. It is a simple name.'
Mr Chew, whose T-shirt under his jacket carried the tiger head logo of the former Malayan Airways, saw it as a return to SIA's early history.
'Everybody liked the name Tiger... It's connected to our roots as well.'
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Interesting development. Readers should, however, cast their minds back to the heady days of our previous CEO’s daring forays into the Australasian skies when buy-ins to Air New Zealand and Ansett lost many billions of dollars (covered exhaustively in past threads). Minds should also be cast back to the track record of the star “name” bought into by SIA/Temasek, who is none other than Tony Ryan, ex-Chairman and CEO of Guinness Peat Aviation (aircraft lessors for those who have forgotten) and mastermind of its flotation debacle, during which, following a series of disastrous decisions fueled by greed and hubris, the great businessman and many others in Ireland lost their shirts. Fortunately, Tony had previously set up a “train set” for his three sons to play with and had a hard nosed and successful airline CEO, P.J. McGoldrick run the 748/ATR operation for a time, so the boys could dabble but not fatally screw up the new entity, which by now was named, unsurprisingly, Ryanair. At the time that Tony found himself on his “uppers”, following the flotation failure, a bright young accountant, Michael O’Leary came along with the proposal to transform Ryanair’s operation and market focus and, following acceptance, MOL became the architect and driving force behind what really is Ryanair Mk2. The rest, of course, as they say, is history. So perhaps SIA/Temasek is really buying into the wrong man?
Of Ryanair (Mk2) of course, its success lies on the twin pillars of operating in an open skies regulatory framework (ie free to set any fare it wishes, fly to any airport within the EU and have absolutely no capacity restriction at all) plus being utterly and ruthlessly unconstrained in its competitive stance towards other carriers by offering staggeringly low fares (last time I flew with them, Dublin – UK was 12 Euros!). Now is the management of “Tiger” going to be as ruthlessly competitive towards owner and big brother SIA/Temasek and is the SE Asian regulatory patchwork of tortuous bi-lateral agreements going to disappear overnight? Don’t hold your collective breaths!
So, the fanfare may be impressive and the names apparently glittering and you may think me a Cassandra but if fares are not rock bottom and the required traffic critical mass not quickly reached, someone, somewhere is going to have to explain away (or probably hush up) yet another multi billion dollar loss. But then that’s OK isn’t it, there’s always the SIA employees’ salary budget to dip into isn’t there?
Of Ryanair (Mk2) of course, its success lies on the twin pillars of operating in an open skies regulatory framework (ie free to set any fare it wishes, fly to any airport within the EU and have absolutely no capacity restriction at all) plus being utterly and ruthlessly unconstrained in its competitive stance towards other carriers by offering staggeringly low fares (last time I flew with them, Dublin – UK was 12 Euros!). Now is the management of “Tiger” going to be as ruthlessly competitive towards owner and big brother SIA/Temasek and is the SE Asian regulatory patchwork of tortuous bi-lateral agreements going to disappear overnight? Don’t hold your collective breaths!
So, the fanfare may be impressive and the names apparently glittering and you may think me a Cassandra but if fares are not rock bottom and the required traffic critical mass not quickly reached, someone, somewhere is going to have to explain away (or probably hush up) yet another multi billion dollar loss. But then that’s OK isn’t it, there’s always the SIA employees’ salary budget to dip into isn’t there?
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Straits Times 10 December 2003
The target, under a wage deal struck earlier, is achievable and will see employees getting compensation for their wage cuts, he says.
Mr Chew, who took over the helm (of SIA) in June, also commented on staff morale at the airline.
“I take this opportunity to assure all staff that management is placing high priority on the building of morale and trust in the company,” he said.
Responding to this yesterday, Air Line Pilots Association – Singapore spokesman Captain P. James said: “I think it’s a good rallying call and I share the hope for a profit target of $600 million.”
Should Captain James’ response not have been: “We have heard many fine words from the Company over the years but the benefits they have referred to have never come to pass for the employees. What are the specific actions which Mr Chew now refers to in respect of morale improvement of the employees, when will the employees have their pay restored to the pre SARS levels and can we please stop talking of compensation when referring to the money, cut from our salaries, held by the Company and currently owing to us since the SARS panic of earlier this year?”
The target, under a wage deal struck earlier, is achievable and will see employees getting compensation for their wage cuts, he says.
Mr Chew, who took over the helm (of SIA) in June, also commented on staff morale at the airline.
“I take this opportunity to assure all staff that management is placing high priority on the building of morale and trust in the company,” he said.
Responding to this yesterday, Air Line Pilots Association – Singapore spokesman Captain P. James said: “I think it’s a good rallying call and I share the hope for a profit target of $600 million.”
Should Captain James’ response not have been: “We have heard many fine words from the Company over the years but the benefits they have referred to have never come to pass for the employees. What are the specific actions which Mr Chew now refers to in respect of morale improvement of the employees, when will the employees have their pay restored to the pre SARS levels and can we please stop talking of compensation when referring to the money, cut from our salaries, held by the Company and currently owing to us since the SARS panic of earlier this year?”
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More sycophantic articles...
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sto...24682,00.html?
DEC 11, 2003
Tiger Airways strategy can work, say analysts
Other big airlines have failed in no-frills ventures, but SIA's link-up with the right partners looks to be a winning formula
By Karamjit Kaur
TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT
SINGAPORE'S new budget airline, Tiger Airways, has the right blend of financial muscle and industry know-how to survive a price war as more low cost carriers start up, say aviation analysts.
Taking off in the second half of next year, the joint venture involves Singapore Airlines, shareholders of Europe's second-largest discount carrier Ryanair, Temasek Holdings and United States-based Indigo Partners.
This combination will ensure the best outcome for SIA, believes Mr Kevin O'Connor, regional head of transport at research firm CLSA (Hong Kong), as almost all attempts by full-service network airlines to operate wholly-owned low-fare carriers have failed.
Keeping Tiger Airways independent of SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir is a good strategy because there will be some route duplication, he added.
Tiger Airways will eat into SIA's business - by as much as 20 per cent say some analysts - if it flies to points like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Still, it is better to lose business to a family member than a stranger, they note.
Mr Ian Thomas of the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation felt SIA had to start a budget carrier, given the recent proliferation of such airlines in Asia.
These include Malaysia's AirAsia, Australia's Virgin Blue, Japan's Skymark and Air Do, and Valuair here.
And with Virgin founder Richard Branson looking to set up another one, is Tiger Airways too late?
No, said Mr O'Connor. 'Many of these airlines are only now starting to go international and I am sure Tiger Airways will be able to catch up fairly quickly.'
Analysts note that Tiger Airways' shareholders have deep pockets and more access to capital than others.
SIA may not have the domestic market of Malaysia's AirAsia, but there is demand in the region, said Mr Vincent Ng, an associate director at ratings agency Standard & Poor's Asian Equity Research.
And while governments in Asia are less liberal than in Europe about dishing out air rights, Mr Thomas says this will change as they are eager to promote tourism and build traffic at their airports.
With Asia's huge population, analysts say there will be more than enough business.
Still, AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes believes there is room for only two Singapore-based budget carriers, although he is not ditching plans for another one here.
'If anything, SIA's decision to enter the budget market shows there must be strong demand out there. We will press on with our plan but in the end, I think that between Tiger Airways, Valuair and AirAsia, one of us will die.'
Valuair, the other Singapore-based budget carrier aiming to take off next year, is certain it will survive as a much smaller 'niche player', spokesman Jimmy Lau said.
Analysts, however, believe that size matters.
Mr Ng said: 'The key thing is not to fail, and SIA has taken care to avoid that with strong partners.'
Still, whether or not Tiger Airways makes money, 'the impact on SIA's bottom line will be small' he said.
SIA's shares lost 0.84 per cent yesterday, finishing at S$11.80.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/sto...24682,00.html?
DEC 11, 2003
Tiger Airways strategy can work, say analysts
Other big airlines have failed in no-frills ventures, but SIA's link-up with the right partners looks to be a winning formula
By Karamjit Kaur
TRANSPORT CORRESPONDENT
SINGAPORE'S new budget airline, Tiger Airways, has the right blend of financial muscle and industry know-how to survive a price war as more low cost carriers start up, say aviation analysts.
Taking off in the second half of next year, the joint venture involves Singapore Airlines, shareholders of Europe's second-largest discount carrier Ryanair, Temasek Holdings and United States-based Indigo Partners.
This combination will ensure the best outcome for SIA, believes Mr Kevin O'Connor, regional head of transport at research firm CLSA (Hong Kong), as almost all attempts by full-service network airlines to operate wholly-owned low-fare carriers have failed.
Keeping Tiger Airways independent of SIA and its subsidiary SilkAir is a good strategy because there will be some route duplication, he added.
Tiger Airways will eat into SIA's business - by as much as 20 per cent say some analysts - if it flies to points like Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. Still, it is better to lose business to a family member than a stranger, they note.
Mr Ian Thomas of the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation felt SIA had to start a budget carrier, given the recent proliferation of such airlines in Asia.
These include Malaysia's AirAsia, Australia's Virgin Blue, Japan's Skymark and Air Do, and Valuair here.
And with Virgin founder Richard Branson looking to set up another one, is Tiger Airways too late?
No, said Mr O'Connor. 'Many of these airlines are only now starting to go international and I am sure Tiger Airways will be able to catch up fairly quickly.'
Analysts note that Tiger Airways' shareholders have deep pockets and more access to capital than others.
SIA may not have the domestic market of Malaysia's AirAsia, but there is demand in the region, said Mr Vincent Ng, an associate director at ratings agency Standard & Poor's Asian Equity Research.
And while governments in Asia are less liberal than in Europe about dishing out air rights, Mr Thomas says this will change as they are eager to promote tourism and build traffic at their airports.
With Asia's huge population, analysts say there will be more than enough business.
Still, AirAsia chief Tony Fernandes believes there is room for only two Singapore-based budget carriers, although he is not ditching plans for another one here.
'If anything, SIA's decision to enter the budget market shows there must be strong demand out there. We will press on with our plan but in the end, I think that between Tiger Airways, Valuair and AirAsia, one of us will die.'
Valuair, the other Singapore-based budget carrier aiming to take off next year, is certain it will survive as a much smaller 'niche player', spokesman Jimmy Lau said.
Analysts, however, believe that size matters.
Mr Ng said: 'The key thing is not to fail, and SIA has taken care to avoid that with strong partners.'
Still, whether or not Tiger Airways makes money, 'the impact on SIA's bottom line will be small' he said.
SIA's shares lost 0.84 per cent yesterday, finishing at S$11.80.
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I mentioned yesterday two pillars on which Ryanair’s success lay. There is, of course, a third pillar and that is the cooperation and enthusiasm of the company’s tech and cabin crews to keep the show on the road. Simply put, to make the aircraft pay, they have to be utilized to the very maximum during the time of day when the customer wishes to fly (ie not at the dead of night), hence, out of a twenty four hour period, perhaps eight of those per aircraft will be spent on the ground (no cozy overnight flights to up the utilization). So all the work has to be crammed into a fourteen to sixteen hour period – and I do mean a lot of work, to make those low, low, fares work. Therefore, turn-round times are around twenty five to thirty minutes and are made to happen, partly by the traffic staff but mainly by the crews (tech and cabin). Why do these crews make it happen? Obvious isn’t it? They are treated and paid well by the airline, who regularly reviews (upwards) payscales and they don’t have their contracts changed at the drop of a hat because the shareholders look as though they might have to take a little pain over short periods in the business cycle. Do we all think that the majority shareholders of the new “Tiger” have these simple concepts squared away yet?
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Straits Times. 12 December 2003
Travellers are back at Changi
Airport was used by more travellers last month than in November last year - the first year-on-year increase since March
By Karamjit Kaur And Goh Chin Lian
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/top...24857,00.html?
AFTER eight months of turmoil caused by the Sars outbreak, it's clear skies again for airlines, the latest figures from Changi Airport show.
More passengers used the airport last month than in November a year ago. This is the first year-on-year increase since March this year, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).
Last month, Changi handled 2.4 million passengers, 2.3 per cent more than in November last year.
At the height of the Sars scare, the comparable numbers for April and May were down by nearly half.
No wonder CAAS director-general of civil aviation Wong Woon Liong was all smiles when he welcomed Qatar Airways on its first landing at Changi yesterday at 11am.
The CAAS said in a statement: 'The arrival of Qatar Airways marks a double joy for Changi Airport as we also celebrate an increase in our passenger traffic for November, the first year-on-year increase since Sars hit.'
The Sars scare all but emptied many flights, causing Asian carriers to lose more than $2.5 billion and forcing Singapore Airlines to axe more than a third of its flights.
With the arrival of Qatar Airways, Changi's fifth new customer this year, the airport now services 68 airlines and is linked to 150 cities in 51 countries. The other four are Xiamen Airlines, Air Hong Kong, Riau Airlines and Lion Air.
The addition of a new airline and a new link is significant, said the CAAS' Mr Wong, as it 'reinforces Singapore's position as an aviation hub in the region'.
In April, before the full impact of Sars hit, 64 airlines used Changi and connected Singapore to 134 cities. By June, the number had fallen to 56 carriers and 122 cities.
Qatar Airways will fly three times a week between Doha and Singapore.
Changi Airport handled just over 3,200 flights per week last month. It has some catching up to do. The week before Sars hit Singapore, there were 3,400 flights.
Since the CAAS earns its living mostly from food and beverage outlets - about 60 per cent of its revenue - the number of passengers handled is more significant.
Outside the airport, cash registers at restaurants, shops and hotels have also been ringing in the past months.
Since September, restaurants have seen more tourists, mainly from China, Indonesia and Japan, said Restaurant Association of Singapore president Lee Tong Soon.
Hotel Phoenix is 95 per cent full, the best this year, said general manager Noel Hawkes. 'We were chock-a-block with Indonesians during the Hari Raya period and there are a lot of corporate meetings.'
April was the lowest point, when occupancy plunged to 23 per cent.
The outlook for next year is positive, with three major events - Asian Aerospace 2004 in February, Food&HotelAsia 2004 in April and CommunicAsia2004 in June - expected to bring in about 55,000 business travellers.
Said Mr Hawkes: 'People are travelling again - barring any unforeseen circumstances, we'll have to say.'
Perhaps now SM Lee can be a little reassured that last quarter’s SIA $300m+ profit was not a flash in the pan and that things are now back on course?
Travellers are back at Changi
Airport was used by more travellers last month than in November last year - the first year-on-year increase since March
By Karamjit Kaur And Goh Chin Lian
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/top...24857,00.html?
AFTER eight months of turmoil caused by the Sars outbreak, it's clear skies again for airlines, the latest figures from Changi Airport show.
More passengers used the airport last month than in November a year ago. This is the first year-on-year increase since March this year, said the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS).
Last month, Changi handled 2.4 million passengers, 2.3 per cent more than in November last year.
At the height of the Sars scare, the comparable numbers for April and May were down by nearly half.
No wonder CAAS director-general of civil aviation Wong Woon Liong was all smiles when he welcomed Qatar Airways on its first landing at Changi yesterday at 11am.
The CAAS said in a statement: 'The arrival of Qatar Airways marks a double joy for Changi Airport as we also celebrate an increase in our passenger traffic for November, the first year-on-year increase since Sars hit.'
The Sars scare all but emptied many flights, causing Asian carriers to lose more than $2.5 billion and forcing Singapore Airlines to axe more than a third of its flights.
With the arrival of Qatar Airways, Changi's fifth new customer this year, the airport now services 68 airlines and is linked to 150 cities in 51 countries. The other four are Xiamen Airlines, Air Hong Kong, Riau Airlines and Lion Air.
The addition of a new airline and a new link is significant, said the CAAS' Mr Wong, as it 'reinforces Singapore's position as an aviation hub in the region'.
In April, before the full impact of Sars hit, 64 airlines used Changi and connected Singapore to 134 cities. By June, the number had fallen to 56 carriers and 122 cities.
Qatar Airways will fly three times a week between Doha and Singapore.
Changi Airport handled just over 3,200 flights per week last month. It has some catching up to do. The week before Sars hit Singapore, there were 3,400 flights.
Since the CAAS earns its living mostly from food and beverage outlets - about 60 per cent of its revenue - the number of passengers handled is more significant.
Outside the airport, cash registers at restaurants, shops and hotels have also been ringing in the past months.
Since September, restaurants have seen more tourists, mainly from China, Indonesia and Japan, said Restaurant Association of Singapore president Lee Tong Soon.
Hotel Phoenix is 95 per cent full, the best this year, said general manager Noel Hawkes. 'We were chock-a-block with Indonesians during the Hari Raya period and there are a lot of corporate meetings.'
April was the lowest point, when occupancy plunged to 23 per cent.
The outlook for next year is positive, with three major events - Asian Aerospace 2004 in February, Food&HotelAsia 2004 in April and CommunicAsia2004 in June - expected to bring in about 55,000 business travellers.
Said Mr Hawkes: 'People are travelling again - barring any unforeseen circumstances, we'll have to say.'
Perhaps now SM Lee can be a little reassured that last quarter’s SIA $300m+ profit was not a flash in the pan and that things are now back on course?
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YOU can all theorize over unions, pay rates, morale, even the
airlines desperate attempts to start LCC's etc.
THE reality is more people are flying, simple as that.
AND because pilots have been quietly screwed by airlines over
the past decade or so there will now be a correction.
YES Mr. airline manager the big wheel is finally turning.
NOW even the singapore Govt. won't be able to control the
rebalance of supply and demand.
WHEN the present growth spurt ends the pilots/unions will
recover some of the past decades management rapaciousness.
airlines desperate attempts to start LCC's etc.
THE reality is more people are flying, simple as that.
AND because pilots have been quietly screwed by airlines over
the past decade or so there will now be a correction.
YES Mr. airline manager the big wheel is finally turning.
NOW even the singapore Govt. won't be able to control the
rebalance of supply and demand.
WHEN the present growth spurt ends the pilots/unions will
recover some of the past decades management rapaciousness.
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SIA feels heat of global competition
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/new...25280,00.html?
THE airline industry is going through very significant changes, and Singapore Airlines is feeling the heat on the global and regional fronts, said NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng.
Newer airlines in the United States and Europe and the emergence of low-cost carriers all make for a difficult operating environment where only the fittest survive, he said.
In the US, mature airlines have been under great pressure from new and budget carriers. And seniority-based wage systems are not helping. Some have cut pilots' wages by up to 30 per cent.
The airline industry in Europe is also consolidating and the general view is that only three airlines there will survive the competition.
Low-cost carriers in the US and Europe have snatched away as much as 20 per cent of business from established airlines, said Mr Lim.
Here, AirAsia and Lion Air have started marketing their flights and two homegrown budget carriers - Valuair and Tiger Air - are also in the works.
And it is in this competitive environment that SIA is operating, he added.
'And we don't have the advantage of a huge domestic market to generate air travel - we are carrying other people's passengers.'
- It is once again edifying to hear such authoritative words on the global air transport industry from specialists of Mr Lim Boon Heng’s standing.
Perhaps Mr Lim could clarify his words by answering the questions that in most other countries could be posed publicly but, as egos are so huge and usually so brittle in Singapore, can only be asked in private forum, lest they be deemed “confrontational” and attract defamation suits or deportation?
Mr Lim, which are the newer airlines in the United States and Europe who are competing directly with SIA? Which US airlines have cut pilots’ salaries by 30%, can you be specific on the percentage of pilots within these airlines who received cuts of such magnitude, what were the debt:equity ratios of these airlines at the time and were the agreements reached in consultation with Aalpa? Please compare the ratios with the corresponding SIA ratio at the time.
How does the consolidation of European carriers adversely affect SIA’s position as a core member of the Star Alliance, which alliance will have definitely one and possibly two of the consolidated organizations as members?
On which routes are the European low cost carriers competing with SIA and which intercontinental carriers do they interline with? Does Mr Lim not remember that deregulation is running apace within the Indian domestic market, reducing fares and raising product quality, but he has forgotten to mention this phenomenon as a threat to SIA.
Does Mr Lim not know that AirAsia competes with SIA up to KL by operating from JB’s Senai Airport and that the Singapore Government recently refused to licence that airline’s coach shuttle from Singapore to Senai, effectively torpedoing competition from AirAsia?
Similarly, has Mr Lim not noticed that the LionAir fare, Singapore – Jakarta could not in any way be described as low cost and directly compares with those of SIA on the route?
Mr Lim, is however, I’m absolutely sure, well aware that the Singapore Government has Singaporean start-up carrier, ValueAir completely within its power in respect of Air Operator’s Certificate issue and nomination as carrier in the relevant bi-lateral air service agreements. If he is not aware of this, then certainly the putative financiers of the venture are, and even the most naďve of readers would draw the conclusion that money would not be invested if the venture was not part of the overall Government plan.
Unless Mr Lim has been visiting Mars recently, he must be aware that “Tiger” is mainly owned by SIA/Temasek, which situation places a major question mark over the entity’s competitive effectiveness against parent, SIA.
Maybe Mr Lim should stick to releasing generalized red herrings, rather than trying to be specific on industries he obviously hasn’t a clue about.
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/new...25280,00.html?
THE airline industry is going through very significant changes, and Singapore Airlines is feeling the heat on the global and regional fronts, said NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng.
Newer airlines in the United States and Europe and the emergence of low-cost carriers all make for a difficult operating environment where only the fittest survive, he said.
In the US, mature airlines have been under great pressure from new and budget carriers. And seniority-based wage systems are not helping. Some have cut pilots' wages by up to 30 per cent.
The airline industry in Europe is also consolidating and the general view is that only three airlines there will survive the competition.
Low-cost carriers in the US and Europe have snatched away as much as 20 per cent of business from established airlines, said Mr Lim.
Here, AirAsia and Lion Air have started marketing their flights and two homegrown budget carriers - Valuair and Tiger Air - are also in the works.
And it is in this competitive environment that SIA is operating, he added.
'And we don't have the advantage of a huge domestic market to generate air travel - we are carrying other people's passengers.'
- It is once again edifying to hear such authoritative words on the global air transport industry from specialists of Mr Lim Boon Heng’s standing.
Perhaps Mr Lim could clarify his words by answering the questions that in most other countries could be posed publicly but, as egos are so huge and usually so brittle in Singapore, can only be asked in private forum, lest they be deemed “confrontational” and attract defamation suits or deportation?
Mr Lim, which are the newer airlines in the United States and Europe who are competing directly with SIA? Which US airlines have cut pilots’ salaries by 30%, can you be specific on the percentage of pilots within these airlines who received cuts of such magnitude, what were the debt:equity ratios of these airlines at the time and were the agreements reached in consultation with Aalpa? Please compare the ratios with the corresponding SIA ratio at the time.
How does the consolidation of European carriers adversely affect SIA’s position as a core member of the Star Alliance, which alliance will have definitely one and possibly two of the consolidated organizations as members?
On which routes are the European low cost carriers competing with SIA and which intercontinental carriers do they interline with? Does Mr Lim not remember that deregulation is running apace within the Indian domestic market, reducing fares and raising product quality, but he has forgotten to mention this phenomenon as a threat to SIA.
Does Mr Lim not know that AirAsia competes with SIA up to KL by operating from JB’s Senai Airport and that the Singapore Government recently refused to licence that airline’s coach shuttle from Singapore to Senai, effectively torpedoing competition from AirAsia?
Similarly, has Mr Lim not noticed that the LionAir fare, Singapore – Jakarta could not in any way be described as low cost and directly compares with those of SIA on the route?
Mr Lim, is however, I’m absolutely sure, well aware that the Singapore Government has Singaporean start-up carrier, ValueAir completely within its power in respect of Air Operator’s Certificate issue and nomination as carrier in the relevant bi-lateral air service agreements. If he is not aware of this, then certainly the putative financiers of the venture are, and even the most naďve of readers would draw the conclusion that money would not be invested if the venture was not part of the overall Government plan.
Unless Mr Lim has been visiting Mars recently, he must be aware that “Tiger” is mainly owned by SIA/Temasek, which situation places a major question mark over the entity’s competitive effectiveness against parent, SIA.
Maybe Mr Lim should stick to releasing generalized red herrings, rather than trying to be specific on industries he obviously hasn’t a clue about.
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Why Govt slammed pilots' union ouster
NTUC chief says it could push unions towards militancy and destroy SIA
By Ho Ka Wei
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/new...25302,00.html?
LABOUR chief Lim Boon Heng yesterday used strong language in speaking out against the way some members of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots' union had ousted their leaders recently, and explained why the Government will not stand for such behaviour.
The way he sees it, a group of people had taken advantage of some of their colleagues' unhappiness over the airline's wage cuts to change the leadership in the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).
He said their actions have created a sense of uneasiness, restlessness and even uncertainty among the employees of SIA, leading to low employee morale.
The SIA pilots passed a no-confidence vote last month, ousting the executive council of the union at a special meeting.
After the ouster, several ministers, from Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen and Mr Lim himself, spoke out against the union revolt.
The Government is also tightening the law to remove the union members' right to have the final say in negotiations with management - a right unique to Alpa-S.
Speaking to reporters at a community function yesterday, Mr Lim said union organisations are like democratic institutions: members vote in leaders, and give them the mandate to act on their behalf.
'Otherwise, it's going to be very difficult for union and management to resolve industrial relations problems, including negotiations of collective agreements,' said Mr Lim, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
It was time that Alpa-S set things right, he added.
'If they don't put this right, then a vocal group can rip up the ground and it will lead to union leaders having to take an ever harder stand with the management, degenerating to militancy,' he said.
'And the other four unions in SIA would have no choice but to adopt a similar stance, and that would destroy SIA.'
SIA has five unions: the SIA Staff Union, SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union, Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union, Air Transport Executives Staff Union and Alpa-S.
Mr Lim also said the pilots have put SIA at risk at a time when the national carrier is still recovering from the after-effects of Sars and is steeling itself against competition from global industry consolidation and budget carriers.
He said: 'So perhaps the people who have started the action among the pilots did not calculate the consequences of the actions which they have taken.'
The Government cannot stand by, he said, and allow what has been painstakingly built up over the years 'to go down just like that, because the jobs of tens of thousands of Singaporeans are involved, not just the pilots'.
SIA is an icon, he said.
'We should do everything we can to maintain SIA as a competitive airline, delivering premium service in an increasingly difficult operating environment.'
NTUC chief says it could push unions towards militancy and destroy SIA
By Ho Ka Wei
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/new...25302,00.html?
LABOUR chief Lim Boon Heng yesterday used strong language in speaking out against the way some members of the Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots' union had ousted their leaders recently, and explained why the Government will not stand for such behaviour.
The way he sees it, a group of people had taken advantage of some of their colleagues' unhappiness over the airline's wage cuts to change the leadership in the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore (Alpa-S).
He said their actions have created a sense of uneasiness, restlessness and even uncertainty among the employees of SIA, leading to low employee morale.
The SIA pilots passed a no-confidence vote last month, ousting the executive council of the union at a special meeting.
After the ouster, several ministers, from Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew to Acting Manpower Minister Ng Eng Hen and Mr Lim himself, spoke out against the union revolt.
The Government is also tightening the law to remove the union members' right to have the final say in negotiations with management - a right unique to Alpa-S.
Speaking to reporters at a community function yesterday, Mr Lim said union organisations are like democratic institutions: members vote in leaders, and give them the mandate to act on their behalf.
'Otherwise, it's going to be very difficult for union and management to resolve industrial relations problems, including negotiations of collective agreements,' said Mr Lim, who is also a minister in the Prime Minister's Office.
It was time that Alpa-S set things right, he added.
'If they don't put this right, then a vocal group can rip up the ground and it will lead to union leaders having to take an ever harder stand with the management, degenerating to militancy,' he said.
'And the other four unions in SIA would have no choice but to adopt a similar stance, and that would destroy SIA.'
SIA has five unions: the SIA Staff Union, SIA Engineering Company Engineers and Executives Union, Singapore Airport Terminal Services Workers' Union, Air Transport Executives Staff Union and Alpa-S.
Mr Lim also said the pilots have put SIA at risk at a time when the national carrier is still recovering from the after-effects of Sars and is steeling itself against competition from global industry consolidation and budget carriers.
He said: 'So perhaps the people who have started the action among the pilots did not calculate the consequences of the actions which they have taken.'
The Government cannot stand by, he said, and allow what has been painstakingly built up over the years 'to go down just like that, because the jobs of tens of thousands of Singaporeans are involved, not just the pilots'.
SIA is an icon, he said.
'We should do everything we can to maintain SIA as a competitive airline, delivering premium service in an increasingly difficult operating environment.'
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Mr Lim said union organisations are like democratic institutions: members vote in leaders, and give them the mandate to act on their behalf.
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Where else in the world but Singapore would such a gross conflict of interest be possible whereby a national union chief sits on the main board of a major national corporation and from which position publicly castigates, as both union chief and board member, the membership of a union (Alpa-S) that represents a section of the employees (pilots) of that corporation and which union is currently and peaceably exercising democratic proceedures, as laid down in its constitutuion, to change the President and membership of its Executive Council along lines more conducive to the mood and aspirations of the membership?
The fact that government lackey and NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng is in such a position with SIA, neatly illustrates the difficulty faced, certainly by the pilot employees of this government corporation (any innocents reading this please, please be assured that through Temasek Holdings plus cross holdings of Temasak in other Singapore corporations, this is the case), notable for its key posts being filled with the ideologically unchallenged but definitely competence and intellect challenged placemen such as Lim.
The fact that government lackey and NTUC chief Lim Boon Heng is in such a position with SIA, neatly illustrates the difficulty faced, certainly by the pilot employees of this government corporation (any innocents reading this please, please be assured that through Temasek Holdings plus cross holdings of Temasak in other Singapore corporations, this is the case), notable for its key posts being filled with the ideologically unchallenged but definitely competence and intellect challenged placemen such as Lim.
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according to an article in the straights times today a minister was quoted as saying that the days of seniority based wage systems is not in the future vision for pay systems.
it mentioned various pay collective agreements expire in SIA and so i would imagine this indicates there may be big plans afoot to completely restructure pilots pay scales , possibly to a 'fixed base' pay with variable wage supplements depending on company performance etc etc..
as mentioned above its incomprehensible the conflict of interest that exists with this board member/union member ??????
get out while you can guys its going to get worse and worse for you there.
it mentioned various pay collective agreements expire in SIA and so i would imagine this indicates there may be big plans afoot to completely restructure pilots pay scales , possibly to a 'fixed base' pay with variable wage supplements depending on company performance etc etc..
as mentioned above its incomprehensible the conflict of interest that exists with this board member/union member ??????
get out while you can guys its going to get worse and worse for you there.
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Straits Times, 16 December 2003
Time to get out now?
SIA chief tells staff gains will be shared
His assurance: Days of high-base wages may be over, but the total compensation given will reflect the airline's standing
By Rebecca Lee </msendmail/0,4391,EmailReporter--225562,00.html?>
SINGAPORE Airlines chairman Koh Boon Hwee has told employees that while they no longer enjoy a fixed high-base pay, they will earn in normal and good times wages that match the airline's standing.
Their wages will become more flexible and their total package, comparable to SIA's position in the industry.
'This is a principle we are committed to, not just for 2003, but also going forward,' he said in a message to staff in the latest issue of the airline's inhouse newsletter, Outlook.
Emphasising that employees would benefit if the company did well, Mr Koh said: 'I have said so many times...that it is not the purpose of the company to make its profit off the backs of our people.
'But I have also told all of you that fixed high-base wages are no longer possible. We must have a structure where the base wage, under the worst of economic situations, will allow the company to break even.
'But in normal times and at the height of each cycle, the additional compensation, in the form of a year-end bonus, will ensure that our total annual compensation is comparable with what it was before and comparable with our position in the industry.'
The more flexible wage structure will be the new collective agreements, he said.
The airline's existing collective agreements with the Air Transport Executives Staff Union expired in October, while the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore's agreement expires this month. The deal with the SIA Staff Union expires in June.
SIA staff and management took no-pay leave and wage cuts of between 5 and 27.5 per cent during the Sars outbreak when the airline lost an average of $3 million a day.
The company reversed a first-ever loss of $312 million in the April-June quarter to make a $306-million profit in the succeeding quarter.
As part of the deal, employees will receive a lump-sum payment ranging from 75 per cent of the wages cut if full-year profit hits $400 million, to 115 per cent if they hit $600 million - or 15 per cent more than what they would get under the old compensation system.
'This year-end make-up formula is based on a simple principle. If the company does well, the gains should be shared,' said Mr Koh.
He made plain his unhappiness over recent murmurings that the bonuses would not be repeated if the company did well next year and the wage cuts were, thus, effectively permanent.
He did not name anyone but said: 'It is disappointing, therefore, to hear that some, and I emphasise the word 'some' because I believe it is a minority, are saying that this is a one-off 2003 programme. By doing this, they arouse unnecessary concern among our people.'
Addressing criticism that management should have waited rather than urge for the wage cuts, he said it was easy to say that on hindsight. But it would have been irresponsible not to act then.
'To do nothing and jeopardise the future of the company and the jobs of even more employees is just unacceptable,' he said, adding that the issue was not just about Sars but also the changes taking place in the aviation industry.
He also acknowledged the sacrifices made by SIA's staff. Sounding an optimistic note about the airline's recovery, he urged them to 'put history behind us' and work together.
Time to get out now?
SIA chief tells staff gains will be shared
His assurance: Days of high-base wages may be over, but the total compensation given will reflect the airline's standing
By Rebecca Lee </msendmail/0,4391,EmailReporter--225562,00.html?>
SINGAPORE Airlines chairman Koh Boon Hwee has told employees that while they no longer enjoy a fixed high-base pay, they will earn in normal and good times wages that match the airline's standing.
Their wages will become more flexible and their total package, comparable to SIA's position in the industry.
'This is a principle we are committed to, not just for 2003, but also going forward,' he said in a message to staff in the latest issue of the airline's inhouse newsletter, Outlook.
Emphasising that employees would benefit if the company did well, Mr Koh said: 'I have said so many times...that it is not the purpose of the company to make its profit off the backs of our people.
'But I have also told all of you that fixed high-base wages are no longer possible. We must have a structure where the base wage, under the worst of economic situations, will allow the company to break even.
'But in normal times and at the height of each cycle, the additional compensation, in the form of a year-end bonus, will ensure that our total annual compensation is comparable with what it was before and comparable with our position in the industry.'
The more flexible wage structure will be the new collective agreements, he said.
The airline's existing collective agreements with the Air Transport Executives Staff Union expired in October, while the Air Line Pilots' Association-Singapore's agreement expires this month. The deal with the SIA Staff Union expires in June.
SIA staff and management took no-pay leave and wage cuts of between 5 and 27.5 per cent during the Sars outbreak when the airline lost an average of $3 million a day.
The company reversed a first-ever loss of $312 million in the April-June quarter to make a $306-million profit in the succeeding quarter.
As part of the deal, employees will receive a lump-sum payment ranging from 75 per cent of the wages cut if full-year profit hits $400 million, to 115 per cent if they hit $600 million - or 15 per cent more than what they would get under the old compensation system.
'This year-end make-up formula is based on a simple principle. If the company does well, the gains should be shared,' said Mr Koh.
He made plain his unhappiness over recent murmurings that the bonuses would not be repeated if the company did well next year and the wage cuts were, thus, effectively permanent.
He did not name anyone but said: 'It is disappointing, therefore, to hear that some, and I emphasise the word 'some' because I believe it is a minority, are saying that this is a one-off 2003 programme. By doing this, they arouse unnecessary concern among our people.'
Addressing criticism that management should have waited rather than urge for the wage cuts, he said it was easy to say that on hindsight. But it would have been irresponsible not to act then.
'To do nothing and jeopardise the future of the company and the jobs of even more employees is just unacceptable,' he said, adding that the issue was not just about Sars but also the changes taking place in the aviation industry.
He also acknowledged the sacrifices made by SIA's staff. Sounding an optimistic note about the airline's recovery, he urged them to 'put history behind us' and work together.