SINGAPORE: Singapore Airlines has asked its captains to volunteer for unpaid leave amid a global economic slowdown that has dented long-haul travel demand, the airline said.
The move came nearly a year after the company — considered a bellwether for the full-service airline industry — made a similar offer to its first officers.
The airline has also frozen its intake of cadet pilots as part of a slew of cost-cutting measures.
“Singapore Airlines (SIA) began offering voluntary no-pay leave to first officers in March last year and subsequently to captains who expressed interest,” company spokesman Nicholas Ionides said in a statement e-mailed to AFP.
SIA has “a temporary surplus of pilots and are managing it through this scheme, which is entirely voluntary,” Ionides said.
He added that “the surplus of captains is limited and we regard it as temporary.”
SIA has more than 2,400 pilots — mostly captains and first officers.
The global financial crisis had led to excess capacity and slower growth that anticipated, Ionides said.
“This voluntary scheme will enable us to address the short-term surplus, while at the same time provide staff with the opportunity to take leave for personal reasons should they wish to do so,” he said.
SIA saw its net profit in the first-half of the current fiscal year ending March fall by 30 percent year-on-year, weighed down by high fuel prices and weak demand in the travel and cargo markets.
This followed a 69 percent plunge in net profit in the carrier’s financial year ended March 2012.
Singapore Airlines asks pilots to volunteer for unpaid leave
Singapore Airlines asks pilots to volunteer for unpaid leave
Gold rises on Iran war safe-haven bid; firm dollar limits upside
BENGALURU: Gold prices rose on March 5, lifted by safe-haven demand amid an escalating war in the Middle East, while a stronger dollar and concerns around the US Federal Reserve’s monetary policy capped gains.
Spot gold was up 0.6 percent at $5,168.43 per ounce, as of 11:55 am Saudi time. US gold futures for April delivery were up 0.9 percent at $5,179.20.
Israel launched a large wave of strikes on Tehran on March 5, targeting what it said was infrastructure belonging to the Iranian authorities, after Iranian missiles sent millions of Israelis rushing into bomb shelters.
“On the one hand, there may be greater safe-haven demand for gold given the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. On the other hand, the risk of a prolonged period of higher energy prices that takes rate cuts off the table, and adds to the chance of rate hikes, could be capping further gains,” said Hamad Hussain, a climate and commodities economist at Capital Economics.
The US dollar rose about 0.3 percent after briefly retreating from three-month highs, as the fallout from the war roiled global markets and kept sentiment fragile.
Concerns about energy supply continued to drive up oil prices and stoke inflation fears.
Gold is considered a hedge against inflation in the long run, but also tends to thrive when interest rates are lower, as it is a non-yielding asset.
President Donald Trump, on March 4, officially nominated former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh to be the US central bank’s next chair.
US economic activity grew slightly, prices continued to increase and employment levels were stable in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its latest “Beige Book” report.
Markets expect the Fed to keep rates steady at its next policy meeting on March 18, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Investors are looking out for the weekly US jobless claims data, due later today, and the US employment report for February on March 6 for further clues on monetary policy this year.
Spot silver rose 0.5 percent to $83.80 per ounce. Platinum gained 1.1 percent to $2,172.20, while palladium lost 0.7 percent to $1,662.07.
