SINGAPORE (AFP) - A Singapore arbitration court ruled Friday that pilots who fly the super jumbo Airbus A380 should be paid more than those on conventional jumbo jets, setting a benchmark that could have global implications.
The Industrial Arbitration Court judgement settled a pay dispute between Singapore Airlines, the launch customer for the double-decker A380, and its pilots.
A three-member panel ruled that the minimum salary for captains on the A380 -- the world's biggest passenger plane -- will be 700 dollars (458 US) a month more than that for captains on the Boeing 747-400 (744) conventional jumbo jet.
"The minimum salary point for captains on the Airbus 380 salary range will be 700 dollars more than the minimum salary point for the B-744 salary range," said the panel, consisting of a representative each from the airline and the pilots, as well as a judge.
The basic pay for a B-744 captain is 10,000 dollars a month, SIA told the hearing.
In its ruling, the court said the maximum salary for A380 captains will remain at 16,500, the B-744 maximum.
The court also said the minimum for first officers on the super jumbo will be 450 dollars more than on the 747-400.
Both sides welcomed the decision and acknowledged they were breaking new ground.
"We recognise there is no market data for the 380," the
Air Line Pilots Association Singapore (ALPA-S) president, Captain P. James, told reporters.
"The A380 is a new aircraft," said Singapore Airlines' spokesman Stephen Forshaw. "There's very little by way of an international benchmark to measure things."
Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent for the industry magazine Orient Aviation, told AFP that A380 pilots from each country will have to set their pay scales individually, but the Singapore case could be used as a reference point.
"A union making a claim for new rates may bring that into the argument," Ballantyne said.
James said the amount of the salary award was "fine" even though it was below the 1,000 dollars sought by the union.
"It's at least more than half-way of what we wanted," James said.
Forshaw said the court's decision brings an end to the dispute.
"The judgement now gives us some certainty to move forward," he said. "The pilots are very keen to get this aircraft into service."
SIA wanted to peg the A380 pilots' pay to that of the wage scale for the Boeing B777, where a captain earns a starting monthly salary of 9,300 Singapore dollars.
During the hearing, an SIA official said physical differences between the A380 and the Boeing 777-300 and 747-400 would have little impact on piloting due to similarities in system technologies, cockpit layout and instrumentation.
While the A380 is heavier than other Airbus and Boeing jets, the weight difference is managed by a high level of automation and other aerospace technologies, the official said.
James countered during his arguments that flying different aircraft is "not as easy as changing cars".
In its decision, the court said that "a pilot has very heavy responsibilities for the safety of passengers, crew, cargo and the aircraft" regardless of the ease or difficulty of flying the plane.
SIA, one of the most profitable carriers in the business, is scheduled to receive the first of its A380s in October after a series of delays that plagued European manufacturer Airbus.
The airline has committed to buy 19 super jumbos.
ALPA-S, with about 1,700 members, has long been regarded as the only workers' group in Singapore willing to stand up to the government, which has kept a tight rein on industrial action.
Singapore Airlines is 57 percent owned by state-linked investment company Temasek Holdings, according to the Temasek website.
Airbus has 166 firm and tentative orders for its A380, which can carry up to 840 passengers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070525...ourdisputea380