Singapore Airlines has resumed flight training for about 80 cadet pilots who were grounded last year amid a business downturn.
Among the measures to manage excess crew, the recruits were pulled out midway through their training and assigned administrative and other non-flying related duties.
This went on for six to seven months on average, and up to eight months for some of the cadets.
Flight training resumed last week, The Straits Times found out.
It will take about 16 months for the cadets to complete their course and become first officers, SIA spokesman Nicholas Ionides said.
Meanwhile, the airline is still not accepting fresh recruits.
It has not been decided when the hiring freeze, which was imposed in early 2012, will be lifted, Mr Ionides said.
Last year, SIA, which now has about 2,200 pilots, let go of 76 expatriate pilots who were on three-year contracts.
Pilots were also asked to consider unpaid leave.
The decision to resume flight training for the cadet pilots signals that things may be picking up in the sluggish premium air travel market, industry analysts said.
Captain William Teng, chairman of the SIA branch of the Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore (Alpa-S), said: "It is a positive development for pilots in general and for the cadets in particular."
Going forward, SIA is expected to take delivery of its first Airbus 350 twin-aisle plane next year.
The airline has an order for 40 A-350s and five more Airbus 380 superjumbos.
In its latest update on the premium air travel market, the International Air Transport Association (Iata) said that the downward pressure on demand in the segment has eased in recent months.
While challenges remain, global business confidence is the strongest it has been since the first quarter of 2011, with Europe and the United States - both key markets for SIA - showing signs of economic improvement, Iata said.
As it holds out for full recovery in the high-end long-haul segment, SIA is preparing to launch its new Indian carrier later this year. The New Delhi-based start-up is a joint venture with Indian conglomerate Tata.
SIA also continues to focus on the more buoyant regional air travel and low-cost sector.
Its subsidiary, SilkAir, will take delivery of its first new Boeing 737 jet - part of an order for 54 new Boeing planes - in a few weeks' time.
Long-haul budget arm Scoot, which started operating about 18 months ago, has announced plans to set up a new carrier in Bangkok jointly with Thai Nok Air.
NokScoot, which will be 49 per cent owned by Scoot and 51 per cent by the Thai carrier, is expected to start flying in the middle of this year.
SOURCE
No comments:
Post a Comment