Singapore Airlines (SIA) is offering its cabin crew a voluntary no-pay leave (VNPL) scheme for three months to deal with its “temporary crew surplus situation”. Basically, they’re currently having way too many flight stewards and stewardesses right now.
In a statement, the national carrier said that having temporary surplus or deficits in cabin crew numbers was “not unusual” in the business, due to the changing travel seasons, and the scheme would allow the airline to better manage crew resources and operational requirement.
The initiative was last introduced during the global financial crisis of 2009, but SIA will continue to offer it “from time to time, going forward”, according to TODAY.
Out of its 14,800 employees, 8,200 are cabin crew members for SIA. With the temporary crew surplus situation, the VNPL option will be offered to Chief Steward/Stewardess and Flight Steward/Stewardess ranks. The cabin crew are ranked, in ascending order of seniority, from Flight Steward/Stewardess to Leading Steward/Stewardess to Chief Steward/Stewardess to In-Flight Manager, according to an SIA spokesperson.
The company emphasized that the scheme is voluntary, and it’s only specific to the cabin crew division.
In June, SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong had announced that jobs were likely to be cut as part of the airline’s business review after it experienced a net loss of $138 million in its fourth quarter — the company’s first loss in five years.
SIA’s move to increasing the flexibility of operations appears to be targeted at managing costs better.
Reader Interactions