SQ expat pilots contracts to finish

[QF WP]

I was out walking this morning and ran into my neighbour, a VA check captain. He was previously a Qatari Captain and AN Captain, so has friends as FO's and Captains everywhere.

He told me that SQ are not extending expat Captains/FO's contracts beyond 30 June, so most are looking to the "sandpit" for flying jobs (which will put them back on the seniority rung).

He also said that rumour has it that SQ are looking to fold Tiger - but I thought VA had a tie in with them as well.

 

[Boris spatsky]

SQ are notorious for taking locals over expats. To my knowledge, the only expats they take are for check and training positions. Had a mate who was A340 check captain but has moved on because of this.

 

[oz_mark]

SQ is not doing that well financially at the moment, so it is no surprise they are trying to reduce the expat ranks.

(Some may have notice that they have also begun aging their fleet (sorry, I mean refurbishing their fleet), rather than turn the planes over as fast as they used to)

As for Tiger, remember there are two Tigers, the one that operates in Singapore, and the one that operates in Australia. If they are looking to fold it, it would be the Singapore based operation I would think.

 

[Mwenenzi]

Singapore airlines dump 76 pilots - PPRuNe Forums
IMHO posts on PRUNE are not the most reliable or balanced

Loss-making SingAir dumps 76 pilots (01-30 19:10)

Singapore Airlines said it will ask 76 foreign pilots to leave before their contracts expire. The carrier said the pilots, who are on three-year contracts, will be asked to leave by June 30.

But Singapore Airlines would not say when their tenures were originally due to lapse. Earnings at SIA in the first half of the current fiscal year ending March slumped by 30 percent year-on-year. This followed a 69 percent plunge in net profit in the carrier's financial year ending March 2012

“Singapore Airlines has taken the difficult decision to advance the planned release of 76 pilots who are employed on fixed-term contracts,’’ SIA said in a statement, AFP reports. “The airline had previously been releasing pilots only upon expiry of their contracts ... The airline will assist them to pursue employment opportunities within the SIA Group and with other airlines.’’

SIA – considered a bellwether for the full-service airline industry – had earlier this month asked its captains to volunteer for unpaid leave, nearly a year after making a similar offer to its first
<snip>
The Hong Kong Standard. 30/1/2013

 

[markis10]

Not sure why they would be heading to the sandpit:

[h=2]Emirates B777-300ER A6-ENF Enters Service.[/h] 03/02/2013

[h=2]Emirates B777-300ER A6-ENG Positions for Portland Painting.[/h] 26/01/2013


[h=2]Emirates B777-300ER A6-ENE Enters Service.[/h] 25/01/2013

 

[QF WP]

markis10, the "sandpit" as he explained it to me, are the Middle Eastern countries of Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, so EK, QR and others are the probable destinations for the pilots. He doesn't want to go back there.

Thanks for the link to the story on PPRuNe, mwenenzi. Didn't think it was rumour, so it's already in the public domain.

oz_mark, nice clarification - you are correct with your assumption.

 

[markis10]

markis10, the "sandpit" as he explained it to me, are the Middle Eastern countries of Qatar, UAE and Saudi Arabia, so EK, QR and others are the probable destinations for the pilots. He doesn't want to go back there.

I was being a tad sarcastic while at the same time showing the frequency of new deliveries to EK at present, those weekly new 777s arriving need crew!

 

[QF WP]

Ah, must have missed seeing the in your earlier comment

 

[Awesom Andy]

This is indeed in the public domain, and SQ is letting go quite a few crew. As for preferring to keep locals, it's simply the way things work in Singapore. When push comes to shove, locals will always be ahead of the expats in this country, no matter the company or industry. There are also legislation stating how many foreigners are allowed in each company, so it would do well for any company to keep locals, which makes hiring people later easier without having to worry about hitting the quota. In a few ways, Singapore is still a ridiculously backwards country.