Thursday, August 19, 2010

Tiger Airways axes flights due to pilot shortage

SINGAPORE: Singapore's Budget carrier Tiger Airways has axed flights in recent weeks due to a pilot shortage, the Xinhua news agency reported, citing local media Thursday, Aug 19.

It cancelled at least ten flights in the four days up to Wednesday, local newspaper The Straits Times reported.

One key cause of the shortage, likely to affect other airlines as well, is the strong recovery in the aviation industry.

Tiger has lost more than 20 of its pilots in a wave of resignations since June.

As airlines go on hiring sprees with the recent upturn, it has become a job hunter's market not only for flight crew, but also aircraft engineers and technicians.

Remuneration varies from airlines to airlines, but anecdotal evidence shows that Tiger pilots who have left are earning 30% more in their new jobs.

Aircraft maker Boeing's training arm, which runs 17 campuses globally, estimates that 448,000 new pilots will be needed in the next 20 years to support fleet growth and replace retiring pilots.

There are currently 170,000 pilots worldwide. ' Bernama


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