Airline lifts staff hours as business rebounds

Singapore Airlines' New Zealand manager Looi Tein-Po. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Singapore Airlines staff are back to working close to full-time hours as it climbs out of one of the toughest years in the carrier's financial history.

Like many of the 14,000 other staff around the world, Singapore Airlines' workers here took an extra unpaid day off a fortnight last year as the slump in demand for travel, particularly in the lucrative premium cabins, hit the airline hard.

It made losses in two successive quarters, although turned that around in the third quarter of the current financial year, helped by lower fuel bills and reduced flights.

The airline's New Zealand manager, Looi Tein-Po, said all employees made sacrifices, including executives who took a 10 per cent pay cut.

"It was the toughest year that I've seen," said Looi, who has worked with the airline for 22 years.

"The forecasts were quite bad but now the worst is behind us we're working towards recovery."

Singapore Airlines has 60 staff in New Zealand and are now down to taking one extra day off a month.

Business had rebounded and if demand was sufficient the airline could reinstate some flights between Auckland and Singapore, he said.

"Two years ago we flew twice daily for the entire year. As a result of the slump last year capacity was scaled back to twice a day out of Auckland [only in] December and January."

The airline also flies out of Christchurch daily during the peak season, between October and March.

He said fares were likely to rise.

"We would like to improve the yield because in the past year we have been trying to keep up demand by offering very attractive fares into the market."

Looi said a new marketing joint venture between his airline and Tourism New Zealand had just started in Singapore.

The airline has contributed $2 million over three years to promote New Zealand in Singapore, China, India, Britain, Germany and France.

Newspaper campaigns highlighted family attractions and activities.