Singapore Airlines Info
 

Hello gents,

From the little information I can gather, it seems to be a good place to work, but I can't seem to find information on pay and entry requirements for expat FO's.

I'd appreciate if somebody could steer me in the right direction.

Thanks

SQ not renewing contracts for DEC
 

Just to take note that SQ does not take in Direct Entry FOs as they have their
own supply from their cadet pilot programme. At the moment they have excess
FOs in their ranks and have stopped recruitment for Ab initios as well. As a complimentary measure SQ is encouraging FOs to take no pay leave to Qatar, Eva etc. In the past they have recruited DECs on rare instances but the latest is that they are not renewing expat contracts anymore. Hope that helps :)

Well that's certainly not what I was hoping to hear, but thanks anyway. What's the salary and QOL like?

The salary is not the highest in the industry and the cost of living is very high, add to that rent, school fees etc. and an FOs pay won't go very far.

Thanks for the info.

I know a former colleague who's currently working for SIA as Captain 777 and he easily takes home around 19K USD pm. This is AFTER taxes!
Of course this includes his house rent allowance. He has no kids in school.
I have seen his salary slips on many an occasion.
Just to let you know.

German flyers

Sorry to say that your friends contract will not be renew in the future.

I'm certain this colleague of yours Germanflyer, has made more money in a few years with SIA than we would make in most of our lives at that rate.
Are ALL DEC contracts not being renewed or is it on a case to case basis.

King on the wing

The latest from the managements is when the contract of the expats are due for a renewal then those contract will not be renewed. Therefore all of those on the expats term will be gone in the near future. SQ is overstaffed with pilots on both seats.

Even SQ cannot compete with the likes of Qatar, Etihad and Emirates with their hidden cost base.

It must be hard to compete when you are paying the entire cost of ab initios. I wonder what the cost is per pilot.

Millerscourt,
Would you care to explain your post please. I'm not sure I understand. Do QR/EY/EK pay higher. I'm quite certain that's not the case. But i'm not sure that's what you meant.
Thanks

JammedStab
Not quite so. Singapore Air has its own training facilities that appeared costly, but financially (accounting purpose), it's a tax haven on top of having full control of numbers of copilots they churn out each year.

The training cost is highly inflated to ensure profit write down, resulting savings in liable tax. The trainees are obligated to pay back a portion of training cost, not a big amount, and in installments.

Ab initials are required to observe a bond of 7 years, after being fully qualified in the right seat. Anyways, the locals are generally not adventurous, 99% stick around. I would too consider the overall job security and stability.

Right now financially they are heading south mainly due to downtown of luxurious travel segment and the caught up by many other regional carriers to compete against SQ sliding service quality. Excess pilots are not as big a cost issue since only basic pay is guaranteed.

Flexicrew

Would agree with just about all you said except the above quote, recent return trip to Amsterdam and the SQ cabin service was as good as it was twenty years ago, possibly the best or equal best Economy class service to be found anywhere.

that's because you were in economy. business class pax have been turning away from SQ because if the lottery on the hard product they can receive.

King on a Wing

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.

They can also offer free accommodation for pilots due to low building costs and land values. Can you imagine what it would cost to give Pilots free accommodation near Heathrow or New York? Pilots are interested in their take home pay after deductions and other costs they would incur in their home country compared to the Gulf and unless you work for work for one of the Main Airlines in the world one is much better off in the Gulf although there is a price to pay which does not suit everyone.

Infrastructure costs like building accommodation ,hangars etc are built on desert land which is owned by the ruling families in the main using dirt cheap labour. Have you ever thought where they all live in the desert when you see them being driven around in the back of open trucks?

Desert does not have the same value or cost as land in Singapore or London Heathrow or New York, so all those costs are much lower than competitors so they can have shiny new aircraft with all the IFE where once Singapore had that kind of advantage over airlines like BA or QF all to themselves they now have the Gulf Airlines with an even lower cost base.

Even in Singapore one used to see ( and probably still do?) labourers from the Indian subcontinent being driven around in open pick up trucks.

SQ also have other competitors operating from there particularly for short haul routes which they never had a few years ago. Hence they hived off SIA Cargo as a separate airline to reduce costs and now Scoot and expand Silk Air all of which have a lower cost base which in turn reduces the need for such a large number of aircraft in the SQ fleet.

Sorry, don't understand that statement. I appreciate that Etihad and Qatar are offering cheaper seats on very modern aircraft but in the premium cabins the SQ product is still rated top by Business and First class travellers.

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.

So housing is "free" eh? See my comment above. :ugh:

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?

Already debunked.

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.

LL

Biggest cost of construction is Land Costs and Labour both of which are low in the Gulf.

Singapore has to import building materials as well and although their pilot's salaries are low these days other infrastructure costs are far higher than the Gulf Airlines.
Ever been to SIN you asked?? Yes worked for SQ for many years.

I also never commented on ab initio costs.:=

yeah but SQ are really just part of the whole Singapore Govt. - they are REALLY important to the country and the idea that "costs" incurred are calculated on anything like the same basis as say for Lufthansa is ... unlikely......

they've been hurting due to the economic downturn but nothing like as bad as others (see QF)