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Singapore International Airlines – Moving to a Flexi–Wage System during Volatile TimesBy Hesan Quazi & D.G. Allampalli |
| Publisher Ref No: | ABCC-2008-008 | Pub/Rev Date: | 2009 |
| Industry: | Airlines & Aviation | Case Length: | 21 pages |
| Teaching Note Ref: | - | Teaching Note: | 9 pages |
| Organisation: | Singapore Airlines | Period Covered: | 2001 - 2003 |
| Country: | Singapore | Level: | Undergraduate/ Postgraduate |
| Publisher: | The Asian Business Case Centre, Nanyang Technological University |
Abstract
From 2001 to 2003, Singapore International Airlines (SIA) faced triple disasters: the 9/11 terrorist attacks, SARS epidemic and the Iraq war, which forced it to reduce capacity, reform and restructure its wages. Having managed costs like a tight ship, SIA found it difficult to negotiate wage restructuring and retrenchments with its unions. Operating in a rigid regulatory and business environment, the SIA management found it challenging to tweak the Seniority-based Wage System, and migrate to a more flexible and competitive compensation structure. With lower yield, high-cost branding and intense competition from the full-service global and low-cost carriers, the SIA management explored ways to balance its strategic elements, attain flexibility and sustain wage and cost competitiveness to earn double-digit returns for its shareholders.
Issues: Human resource management, Wage reforms and restructuring
About the Authors
