Singapore Airlines (SIA) staff will receive a bonus of almost eight months’ salary, following the airline’s record earnings for a second straight year.
Screenshots of a presentation by SIA CEO Goh Choon Phong, seen by CNA, indicated that employees would receive 7.94 months’ worth of profit-sharing bonus, the highest in the airline’s history.
It exceeds last year’s record of 6.65 months in profit-sharing bonus. Eligible employees then also received an ex-gratia bonus of up to 1.5 months as a recognition of their efforts during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This year’s bumper bonus was also reported by Bloomberg, which cited a source familiar with the matter.
CNA has approached Singapore Airlines and its low-cost subsidiary Scoot for comment.
Scoot employees last year received a performance bonus of 4.76 months plus an ex-gratia bonus of up to 1.5 months.
On Wednesday, SIA reported a record profit of S$2.68 billion (US$1.99 billion) for the fiscal year ended March 2024, up from S$2.16 billion a year ago.
Singapore’s flag carrier also declared a final dividend of S$0.38 apiece, higher than the S$0.28 a year ago.
SIA on Wednesday said its record profit reflects strong travel demand in North Asia, and also highlighted strength in cargo demand towards the end of the financial year amid a shift to air freight by various shippers due to security concerns in the Red Sea region.
“Cargo demand strengthened towards the end of FY2023/24 on the back of healthy e-commerce demand, resilient and growing segments such as perishables and concerts,” the company said.
And while air travel demand from China is not back to pre-pandemic levels, the visa scheme between Singapore and China that began earlier this year has helped to fill seats, Mr Goh said on Thursday.
However SIA also expects passenger yields – a measure of average fare paid per mile, per passenger – to continue to moderate as airlines expand capacity, and flagged geopolitical tensions and supply chain pressure.
SIA is set to take a 25.1 per cent stake in Air India as a result of the Indian airline’s merger with Vistara, its joint venture with SIA. Mr Goh said he was hoping to hear about regulatory approvals this year.
SIA has a current fleet of 200 aircraft, which it expects to rise to 209 this fiscal year.
Source: CNA/Agencies/ec