A great way to fly: SIA staff to get about 8 months' bonus after company posts $2.16b record profit

The Covid-19 pandemic has been rough for the aviation industry.

But after the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group reversed three straight years of losses with a record annual profit, its employees are reportedly set to reap the rewards.

In a video seen by AsiaOne on Wednesday (May 17), those at an annual business meeting were shown a series of slides which included the percentage of profits that will be shared to SIA employees as bonus.  

Those present then could be heard cheering in delight when it was announced that all rank-and-file staff will be getting a salary bonus of between six and eight months.

The Business Times also reported that the airline will be rewarding eligible employees with a profit-sharing bonus of 6.65 months following the group’s record earnings, and a maximum total of 1.5 months of ex-gratia bonus in recognition of their hard work during the pandemic.

Speaking to AsiaOne on Thursday (May 18), one SIA employee, who was at the meeting, shared his joy about getting the "well deserved" bonus.

The 26-year-old cabin crew recalled how his colleagues had worked hard during the pandemic period, and when travel restrictions were lifted.

"It's heartening to know that our hard work was paid off, and we are rewarded for it," he said. "This just push us crew to continue the good job and motivate us to soar higher."

SIA Group which includes flag carrier SIA and budget airlines Scoot, posted net profit of $2.16 billion for the year ended March 31, rebounding from a loss of $962 million a year earlier.

Strong demand for air travel drove revenue, operating profit and passenger load factor, the company said, adding that SIA and Scoot were able to "ramp up operations at short notice" when the demand for air travel surged in FY2022/23. 

"Working collaboratively with key members of Singapore's aviation ecosystem, both carriers were among the first to launch flights as borders reopened, and captured the pent-up demand as air travel returned," SIA said.

SIA's chief executive Goh Choon Phong told The Straits Times (May 17) that back in 2020 when the pandemic was in full swing and the company had to ground most of its fleet, they were already planning for a recovery when the crisis passed.

Some measures included freezing hiring, cutting salaries, reducing discretionary expenditure and renegotiating contracts with suppliers and contractors.

As a result of that, the airline had the financial, manpower and operational resources to get planes off the ground faster and more efficiently than its rivals when the borders reopened, he added. 

AsiaOne has contact SIA Group for more information. 

Other companies with eye-watering salary bonuses

In March, Taiwanese shipping giant Evergreen Marine said that it would next give its workers mid-year bonuses worth another 10 to 11 months of salary for their 2022 performance.

The company had previously made headlines for rewarding employees last December with massive year-end bonuses worth up to 52 months’ pay. 

The company had posted a record net profit of NT$334.2 billion (S$14.7 billion) for its financial year ending Dec 31, 2022. 

And in Jan 2021, Sheng Siong staff received up to 16 months' bonus, inclusive of the annual wage supplement (AWS). 

In an internal memo sent to their staff, the supermarket chain said that the bumper bonus was to recognise that the company had "performed extremely well as compared to previous years" in 2020, on the back of elevated demand for its offerings due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Total bonuses for staff ranged from 4.68 months for eligible part-time staff (inclusive of AWS) to 15.72 months for those ranked as assistant managers and above.

ALSO READ: Singapore Airlines quarterly profit surges seven-fold

chingshijie@asiaone.com