SQ 117 Hijack (true) story by a steward on the flight part 2..

Part Two: Denial

I was calling out in pain and disbelieve that its a hijack...gosh what am i going to do...is this for real....whats going to happen next.....and most of all ..WHY ME.....there were many questions running thru my mind....are these for real.....it cant be...not on SQ and Singapore...are the bombs real?....what did they want....again...WHY ME.....and why not those assholes that always give crew a hard time.......

The four hijackers were from Pakistan and they soon took control of the aircraft in mid air, though they were shouting thru the cabin and showing their so call bombs held high in their hands...there were no chaos or panic from the passengers, i guess all the pax think like me...they must be drunk...

Situation was very tense at that moment, the shouting goes on....by now all the crew has been gathered at the back of the galley where i was...P.Cheong was obvious being hit on the face as we could see the red marks left by a punch or a slap...we didn’t spoke...but the exchange on the eye could jus feel the fear in us and we jus have to stay calm..

The leader..Sahit..(the name can never erase from my memory). Has been shouting loudly throughout the cabin...”stay where you are, dun move, u are my brothers and sisters, we will not harm you, follow what i tell you and you be ok!!”.....jus thought these were some assuring words that we are safe.....and it was not..

Getting back on myself...the fear has been running thru me and my heart jus beat so fast as if i was running a sprint..we didn’t dare to utter a word, PCheong give us a hand signal to stay cool....a nice gesture ....but tell u all....it scares the shit out ok......

The leader ordered the aircraft fly straight to Sydney....”WE will go to Sydney...no stop in Sinagpore...” he shouted....or we will blow up the plane.....”....”there will not be enough fuel” i said, and PCheong tries to tell them in a calm matter...another slap on his face by the leader and i could see his eyes jus turn red....not so much of the pain...jus the fear of death that is drawing nearer...

I took a glance at the claimed “explosive” that they were holding....four canisters each, two on each hand..was it real?.....well the papers says its fire crackers.....screw them for saying that it dummy and fire crackers. And for those who think that they hijack the aircraft with cutlery knifes....those are C4 plastic explosive with a safety fuse of about 30 cm....which means we have 30 seconds to run should they ignite it.(safety fuse burns one CM per sec)....for those whom had served the army might know wat is C4......for me...i was trained in demolition....i was with the demo team in the army....would i make a mistake with it....i whispered PCheong...30 sec....tats all we have if they ignite...PCheong nodded...and gave a reluctant smile and said...”stay cool...we will be ok....”.....29 August 2008 to be continue

SQ 117 Hijack (true) story by a steward on the flight

In 1991 March 26, Singapore Airlines Flight SQ117 was hijacked at 10:15 pm. The Airbus, carrying 118 passengers and eleven crew members (9 cabin 2 cockpit crew), was a shuttle service from Kuala Lumpur to Singapore. Four passengers, who claimed they were members of the Pakistan People's Party, commandeered the plane during the flight.

Below is the true story written by a former SIA steward who was on the hijacked flight and thrown out of the aircraft by the hijackers,sustaining serious injuries.....now let's read what he has to say.



1991, March 26...Part One

Its another dreadful day for me as its the four sectors turn today...worst off it a Pen/ KL.. but for bonus, the Chief whom was rostered for the flight was P. Cheong.. ..had work with him on the previous flight...P.Cheong is a very nice chief..always very supportive and encouraging towards crew....and the deep impression about him was he will be standing up in the briefing room and going round extending his hand to all the crew and introducing himself....unlike most senior crew whom will sit there like a Toa pei kong and awaits all the crew to do so...such simple gesture always make a better day, he was just so humble and down to earth.

Looking back...today is my first month in the Airbus fleet after being in the Jumbo fleet for a year..(for those whom are new or non crew , we use to begin with either the long haul flights before we are transfer to regional flights or vice versa, then we use to call Jumbo crew or Airbus crew)..well, being in the Airbus fleet is kind of different feeling....crew in Jumbo tends to be so on the ball and company man....everything black and white....try to bitch and compete with one another...and often have grouping.....ayah tell you more next time...

As a newbie in the Airbus....jus felt like a small family...cos you will get to fly with the same people quite often, and everyone in the Airbus is always so helpful and friendly....PCheong is one of them..

And now....back to the story which has change my life...

We begin our flight with 10 crew doing the Sin/Pen/Sin...and before we realise it , two sectors were gone...there was a change of aircraft and so there was a crew whom is going home as we only need nine crew for KL...I could remember she was a Indian LSS (leading stewardess) but couldn’t remember her name.....well anyway...dun think is nice to mention any names in this story. So she was the lucky one, we said good bye to her before we had to rush to the other aircraft which was park distance away..but all the crew were in high spirits cos it jus two more sectors away and we are going home. There were crew meal catered but I was just thinking of having a Mac meal after the flight....hmm...a chicken burger meal will be good...

The flight went on well, of cos there were nothing to serve except for coffee and tea...quick quick and we are done...

EX KL:...flight was somehow delayed...captain came on PA addressing that we are expecting four more pax and we should be on our way....stomach was getting hungry and jus cant wait to have my Mac meal when we return to Singapore..

Finally the four pax boarded and we are all set to go......and the four Indian pax were ther nightmare that no one on the flight expected...flight took off after much delay and the seat belt sign were off before we start to run down the aisle to prepare for the drink service...being the most junior, I was working at AFT galley...or back galley...GLF was my LS and together with 2 other senior girls. As the aircraft stabilised, we were serving the pax a drink...a lady ask me if she could have a glass of warm milk as she was not feeling very well....ayah...have to heat up the milk then...

Back in the galley, heating up the milk...from the corner of my eyes saw four Indian pax seems to be looking for the toilet...pointed out to them where is located and to my surprise, two went into the each toilet.....wow...toilet must also go together...these idiots must be drunk at such early hours...

Getting ready to serve the warm milk....the four Indain pax came out of the toilet...with items holding in their hands....and shouted...”HIJACK HIJACK...this is a HIJACK...stay where you are”.....gosh..they must be really drunk......hijack on SQ...you must be crazy....confirm drunks......I was not really bothered with their shouts...in return, I smile at them and said.....”Sirs ,would you like to return to your seats”.....you probably will be laughing at my response but if you were to be on board...you may react the same I do....drunkards ...trying to hijack SQ....way out of your mind.......my smile didn’t last long until I realise that punches has already landed on my stomach and face.....kicks and I was fell to the back of the galley............to be continue

THE BARISAN RAKYAT BLOGGERS OF MALAYSIA

LILLIAN,MARINA,QUEENIE,BERNARD,HARIS,RPK,GUS,VIVEG,VESU,AMARGEET

THESE ARE THE PEOPLE (THE BARISAN RAKYAT BLOGGERS) WHO
TRIED TO GIVE YOU THE NEWS THAT MATTERED
DURING THE PERMATANG PAUH BY-ELECTION.

Courtesy of Zorro-Unmasked! ( Bernard, 4th from left)

Can Anwar Ibrahim deliver his promises?

Now that Anwar Ibrahim has soundly defeated the BN candidate at yesterday's Permatang Pauh by-election,can he or will he carries out what he has promised the people?

Let me quote Anwar from Malaysia Central this statement by him immediately after his victory:

We have promised a New Dawn for Malaysia and we will deliver on our promise. We will forge ahead on our Malaysian Economic Agenda to revive the economy, and to uplift the poor and the marginalized of all races. We will restore the integrity of the judiciary, fight corruption and build a truly unified nation.

We will be a government that is totally committed to realizing the people’s aspirations.

PKR leader (Anwar): I can forgive, not forget

Latest Update on the Malaysian Permatang Pauh Election

For the lastest and almost hourly update and progress of the Permatang Puah by election click here to Zorro Unmasked blog

Malaysia opposition cries foul in Anwar by-election

By Jalil Hamid

PERMATANG PAUH, Malaysia (Reuters) - Malaysia's opposition alliance, which backs Anwar Ibrahim in his bid to return to parliament, said on Monday that some of its supporters had been removed from voter lists ahead of a crucial by-election.

As tensions mounted in the usually sleepy northern Malaysian enclave of Permatang Pauh, police sent in reinforcements to prevent clashes between rival groups and there were reports of a scuffle between Anwar supporters and government backers.

Press this key for more.

Bohtong's clones or sincerest form of flattery?

This is a clone of me and I am flattered by this blog? whose stories are from other airlines,at least the first one.

This guy toes PM Lee's line

Wah lau this guy is going hi-tech by following prime minister Lee Hsien Loong national day speech about using the internet for the next general election. But he is using YouTube to promote his business...can or not? Is it legalised in Singapore? Hahaha cos pm Lee didn't mention about it.

This one got away.

His wife was a fierce woman,a school teacher by profession. He was an ex colleague of mine, a hen-pecked husband. His wife's name was "Ann" and his was "Greg".
Greg was the sort of man who would submit to his bitchy wife for the slightest thing. She would abused and made fun of him in the presence of the crew and did not feel bad about it. Greg on the other hand would accept Ann's "rubbish" and smiled them off. To him nothing Ann did nor say would ever hurt his ego.
He was a man to begin with,he always told us. He told us the best way to get back at such a wife was to fuck around behind her back. And fucked around Greg did, for almost 40 years of his life as a cabin crew. The best thing he told us was,Ann never knew anything about his love affairs with stewardesses and female passengers.
The last girl friend he had before his retirement was his trainee,a foreigner. Their love affair went on for almost 8 years before she left the airline.
He screwed so many female passengers and stewardesses and yet got away with it. Or was it?......Perhaps as many of us thought, Ann all along knew about her husband's flings with other girls but because he was such a "good" boy to her she chose to close both of her eyes. Another theory was Ann was frigid and didn't like sex or she was a lesbian. We suspected the latter.

Cabin crew union chief's message

23rd June 2008

Dear comdrades,

The Points of Agreement (POA) on Cabin Crew items have been signed on 10th Jun 2008. Pending the conclusion of the Collective Agreement, a C.A booklet will be printed by the Company and SIASU and will be distributed to all members. SIASU as a whole is still in the midst of the Collective Agreement negotiations. As members are aware, SIASU is made up of many other Divisions.

I would like to assure all members that we hear and understand the gripes our members are facing on a daily basis. My team is working fervently to address all issues raised by you.

Recently, we had an intense meeting with management to look into outstanding issues affecting crews’ welfare and morale.

Below is a summary of issues and the steps management is willing to take to prevent further deterioration of the current situation.


Crew Shortage Situation

We had raised this issue with Management for months. SIASU’s concern is that the problem will be further amplified comes 7th July 2008. SIASU wanted management to commit to a contingency plan should the number of crew leaving is higher then expected.

Management had informed SIASU that the shortage of crew will be resolved soon. In the event that the attrition rate is higher then what they have predicted, Market Planners will have to maintain or reduce flights to resolve this shortage which we all know is taking a heavy toll on crews’ health due to fatigue.



Link Flights Administered By Control Centre

Crew are called-up during standbys and disruption to their original rosters are inevitable. This we understand.
What used to be practiced by Control Centre on ‘best fits’ standby call-up to minimize disruption to crew’s roster is no longer a practice. Instead, the so called “best fits” now is standby called ups which very often ended up with a standby before a long flight. And it has become a norm lately.
Example, standby before FRA/JFK, HKG/SFO, DXB/IST etc.
Furthermore, no extra OFF day is given since the duration of the 9 days COP, inclusive of the turnaround flight (called up) before the LONG FLIGHT is still 3 days.
SIASU had raised this issue with higher Cabin Crew Management and we hope to put a stop to this “practice”.





A345A Flexi-Dining (SIN/EWR/SIN)

SIASU had objected strongly to offering “Flexi-dining” on ULR flights. Since the introduction, there was a tremendous increase in workload which we are very concern will affect the safety operation (especially during the landing phase) of the flight if crews are all over-worked and fatigue sets in.

Cabin Crew Management had agreed to suspend this service with effect from 16th Jun 2008.



Sharing Of Hotel Rooms.

SIASU had protested to Management that it is unacceptable for overseas stations to ask crew for assistance to share room after a long and tiring flight. For whatever reasons there may be. Recent case in DME and FRA had made crew very upset and SIASU had highlighted to management no amount of compensation can buy one’s privacy.
SIASU WANTS management to put a stop to this practice at all station immediately.



New Announcement Text

Recently, Management had issued a new Announcement text and wanted crew to print out these texts at their own expense. SIASU disagreed and instead asked Management to issue to all ranking crew a set each. Which management has agreed.



NTUC Vouchers For Flights Departed With Minus Crew

This arrangement had been agreed between Management and SIASU but information on how and when these vouchers will be given out to affected crew is not clearly spelled out. Management had informed SIASU that a communiqué will be released to inform all crew on the above matter.



CPR Assessment

Currently crew are required to do five cycles of CPR during their first aid assessment. Feedback from crew was that some crew had to stay back till as late as 7pm to pass this assessment.
SIASU had asked Management can a three cycle CPR be deemed suffice as long as it doesn’t compromise on standard.



Punitive Measures On Crew Accumulating 7 days MCs or More

Wardleaders have been calling crew for a meeting at STC once a crew has accumulated 7 days MCs. SIASU feels that this is not right. As all MCs were issued by SIA appointed doctors, management should recognize the MCs
SIASU had asked Management to put a stop to this practice immediately and not to ask crew to meet their wardleaders at STC during their OFF days.



A380 Aircraft Visit/Service Training

For months, crew undergoing this training spent up to four hours in the aircraft with temperature of 32 degrees or more without any air-conditioning. SIASU had demanded something be done or training duration be cut to not more then 2 hours.
Management had looked into this and had asked Engineering to help switch on the air-conditioning during these training sessions.



Saturday Classes at STC

There were instances where Saturday classes were conducted without sufficient food at the canteen and without air-conditioning. SIASU raised these issues with training department and Training Department had assured SIASU that these lapses had been investigated and there will be no re-occurrence.



New Service Implementations

SIASU had raised our concern that logistics and aircraft designs are not being considered when implementing new service procedures. How can crew effectively carry out these new services when there is no logistic supports?
SIASU had asked Cabin Crew Management to speak up for crew instead of allowing Inflight Services Department (ISD) to ‘bulldoze’ any new initiatives without proper planning.



Collection of New Male Uniform

Crew were asked to collect their new uniform at Commonwealth. SIASU had informed Management that this is inconvenient as it would be far away from many crews’ residence. As such, crew can now collect their new uniform either at the Commonwealth or at Shaw Centre.





From all the above issues, I hope crew members are reassured that we do take seriously all constructive feedback and act on them expeditiously. I will be writing to keep you updated every quarterly on issues that affect our membership at large.

Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome all new members and thank everybody for your strong support for my team. For record, we have 5,200 (70%) members as at end May 2008. That’s a very encouraging sign and I hope we can achieve 90% membership by the next SIASU election.



I wish all good health.
Thank You.



Yours Truly



ALAN TAN
CHAIRMAN
CABIN CREW DIVISION

Source: SIASU cabin crew branch.

Let's not forget the man who did us proud in 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome

Tan Howe Liang (simplified Chinese: 陈浩亮; pinyin: Chén Hàoliàng; born 1933 in Shantou, China) is a weightlifter from Singapore who earned himself a place in history as the first and only Singaporean to win an Olympic Games medal, which he did in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome where he won the silver medal in the lightweight category. Tan also broke oldest-standing world record in the lightweight category in the clean and jerk in 1958.
Life after the Olympics
After his win at the Olympics, Tan tried to run a restaurant business but was unsuccessful. He worked as a taxi driver for a short stint, before becoming a weight-lifting coach in 1974. After his retirement from competition, Tan was hired as a gym supervisor by the Singapore Sports Council at the Kallang Family ClubFitt in November 1982.
Up until 1999, Tan continued to cycle to work daily, six days a week. He lives in a three-room Housing Development Board flat on Jalan Batu in Tanjong Rhu with his wife and daughter.
Tan is a humble man who never complained. Compared to the present day where Singapore athletes are promised a reward of S$1 million for winning a gold medal and $750,000 for a sliver at the Olympics, Tan did not receive any monetary rewards for his effort in 1960.
So let us not forget the man who did us proud way back in 1960.

An Olympic medal for Singapore!

(This one is Gold la and it belongs to SIA cabin crew ok?)

Ah finally an Olympic medal for S'pore. Last time was a silver medal by Tan Howe Liang for weight lifting and now at least a silver for the table tennis team.

Not to boast but if there is an Olympic contest for the world's best cabin crew,

SIA would have distinctively win the gold medal at almost every Olympic games.

So what's there to get so excited over the table tennis team's victory?

How much does a SIA pilot gets compared to .......

Straits Times reported that SIA pilots’ salaries were revealed in the pay dispute court case between SIA and its pilots’ union.

Captains flying Boeing 777 planes take in a median of $271,888 per annum, which excludes allowances. Their First Officers receive a median income of $149,258. First Officers are “junior captains” - they become Captains upon promotion.

According to AskCaptainLim.com, a national airline pilot in the US commands up to US$250,000 per year. According to the same website, a Captain with the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) receives a gross pay of up to RM35,000/mth including allowances.

Responses:


David Seah Says: December 19th, 2007 at 5:21 pm
Hi there,
Just to base on 65 hrs of flying duties is not accurate at all to calculate SIA pilots’ gross salary.
MVC( Monthly variable component has to take into account )as well as all other allowances such as transport, location meal allowances and inflight meal allowances have to be taken into account too. A ball park figures for all these allowances in will be close to 5K or more.
Spoken to some pilots ( Capts and FOs ) before hence a rough guide for gross salary will be at range of 19-30K over for Capts ( base on seniority as basic salary differs between a junior guy and much senior guy ) and 10K-16K for FOs ( base on seniority as well again ).
Hence I am also quite surprise Pilots are not in the top 100 Jobs in Singapore list.
For more go to this webpage. and this one loves SIA!

It's the Singapore Girl, not Granny

THINK Singapore Airlines and the SIA Girl comes to mind - unbidden.

She's young and attractive, and has a million-dollar smile and a figure flattered by a suitably padded kebaya. What if she were 55 years old instead of the 20 to 30 average age of the SIA Girl today?

I asked colleagues and friends and the general response was: So what? If she is pleasant, efficient, coherent and knows her job, age is just a number. But one colleague - a male - added: 'Some eye candy wouldn't hurt.'

For 60 years, the image of the Singapore Girl - despite numerous changes of hairstyle - has stood the test of time. But every now and then, the airline gets flak for insisting the SIA Girl drink at the fountain of eternal youth. It happened recently at a forum on employability.
To continue reading press her grandma's old sagging boobs ...no offense hor Ms Karamjit or Asiaone?...hehehe

Cabin Crew-in-Charge sacked for ...........

A Chief Flight Attendant was sacked recently after a disciplinary committee found him guilty of molesting a new flight stewardess on his flight.

The story went like this........

Chief Flight Attendant Chee Ko having the flexibility to assign crew work positions on his flight,decided against cabin crew policy of allocating a newbie stewardess to work with him in the Biz class. This newbie was a foreign stewardess.
A newbie must have worked at least 6 months before being allowed to work in the Biz class. The newbie must also undergo further training in the Biz class before being assigned to that class to work.
During the flight, according to a reliable source, Chief Flight Attendant Chee molested the stewardess. She was in the state of shock when the 2nd in charge,a cheap stewardess came to the Biz class. In between sobs,the newbie confided in the cheap stewardess and the matter was reported to the company.

Chee had been with airline for about 30 years. He threw his job down the "drain" because of a "pussy". Worst still, he will live with the stigma of a molester and worst,worst still his kids and wife will not be able to face the world.

It is not as though all the male crew are angels but the moral of the story is like one ex- Chief Flight Attendant Justin said "hey bah you can do anything you want but just don't get caught". ....well said Justin!..... who was not offered the extension of his retirement to work beyond 55 yrs because he had a big mouth! Justin has been recently spotted loitering aimlessly in KL, Malaysia with a pony tail and a big paunch.

2 senior crew had been sacked within a span of 3 months,one for stealing champagne and other company's stuff and this one for molest. The former was charged and fined in court and the latter??? ......to be charged and caned? oops he is over 50 and according to the law here cannot be caned. May be wrongly canned and can sue the gamen mah and compensated a million bucks like that guy who took drugs and overcanned.......

Contribution from my regular visitor "Heppy"

Hi BT

Am not much of a writter but thought I contribute to your good work on the blog.

ROOM SERVICE (Part I)

I was in my 2nd year Uni in overseas and being a pragmatic student I decided to work for my tuition fees every year
and I was doing many part time job sometimes up to 2 shifts a day earning up to few hundred buck a day. One summer there
was a job opening as a Room Service waiter one that does 'grave yard shifts from midnight till 7 am. One particular morning I was ready
to go home but a fellow waiter was not able to work breakfast shift and I was asked by my manager if I would like to work overtime, since it was
a New Year's Eve the thought of earning triple pay inspired me. I was then a young handsome looking lard , cute many had said but I didn't quite
believed in what people has to say all I wanted to do was finish my medical degree and buy a sports car. Being first time in breakfast shift I was totally
lost and I was the only one working while all the ang-moh winding down to party on New Years' Eve. But that morning, something special happen .
As a room service waiter we were given list of all the guest that were checking in that morning and too my pleasant surpirse a a group of airline crew
was scheduled to come in that morning ! Straight away my powerful male instinct tells me I might get lucky this time.

It was 8am in the moring at the hotel lobby, there she was a beautiful young looking FSS in her kebaya ! She has the greatest smile on earth , sweet gentle
and polite. I felt in love with her instantly and it was as if she was the snow white that came out of the picture book. My heart pump so fast that I recalled lossing
my speech starring at her, she made droll in mouth and I nearly drop the tray full of coffee and breakfast. Soon we were in the lift together , the lift door closed behind us
and I knew i only had 30 seconds to say something to her , but words was no where to be found ! I was still speechless and probably she might have noticed that I was interested in her
but too shy to ask and she starting the conversation ...."are those coffee for me ."
Conjuring enough courage I utter "...err..Yes yes ..would you like some breakfast " and she replied .."Why that would be nice !! my room number is 308" as soon as she finished the lift opens and it has to be 3rd floor and she left giving me a sexist smile. After finishing my delivery I ran back only to find more trays to serve and being a holiday season it seems everyone in the
hotel decided to sleep-in and ordered room service breakfast. Darn I told myself , I will miss this life time opportunity, ignoring the pile of orders I then took the best breakfast to Room 308 !

Knock , knock ! and there was great silence and I knock again , the door finally opens slowly from inside and there she was, beautiful as ever ! only this time she has only a T-Shirt up to her mid thigh ,exposing her sexy pair of legs, her legs were as white as snow , smooth and shappy. My heart pumped so fast that I felt I was running a 10km marathon. By then my tray full of cups
and soucers were shaking because of my shiverring knees. In her sweet sexy voice, she invited me into her room ....


Thank you Heppy that's good of you to contribute this story......quick ah can't wait for the 2nd part.

A day in the life of a stewardess

No rest in peace for the late SIA flight stewardess Bee Bee.

If you were to read yesterday's Straits Times it would be difficult for you to miss an article about the tussle between the late stewardess's nephew and her lover.
Nephew got the hair salon and the flat worth over $1 mil and lover boy got the joint savings account of $300+k.
The case was settled by the court when her nephew sued lover boy for the savings $$. The judge called nephew "greedy" and allowed lover boy to keep the 300+k.
I personally knew Bee and ex hubby Mike. They were a wonderful pair,working for MSA/SIA as cabin crew back in the 1970s. They met while working for the airline,married and left for London to take up hairstyling.
As an ex-colleague, I must say they were a sweet loving couple who worked their guts out to give their passengers a service that other airlines talk about.
Bee Bee was an absolutely stunning young lady. She joined cabin crew when she was barely 19. Mike was the envy of every male crew and passengers when he courted Bee. Mike was tall and skinny. We were puzzled when Bee fell for him.
Perhaps,Bee saw something in him that we couldn't.
This is my short comment on the case and I hope nephew and lover boy would let Bee's soul rest in peace.

Baby that Died on 17 June 2008 in flight 9W 229 (Jet Airways Brussels-Delhi) while landing in IGI Airport Delhi

Anonymous said...
Not many knew this,the one in charge of the safety training and a chief trainer himself was an ex inflight supervisor from SIA who is unqualified in this area. He was recruited by the team of jet airways interviewers in Singapore a few years ago when he went for his inflight supervisor position in jet airways. He was declared short in his height but because the interviewer who was his ex batchmate in MSA "pull string" him in as a safety trainer. He himself was pleasantly surprised.

August 8, 2008 4:56 PM

The above was a comment left by someone at this blog whereby an infant died on an international carrier.The parents of the dead baby asked visitor to their blog to sign a petition to press the govt of India to investigate the cause or causes of the baby's death on Jet Airways Flight 229 ( Brussels – Delhi ), 17th June 2008.
The parents of the baby questioned the efficiency of Jet Airways cabin crew in dealing with the situation and other safety aspects of the airlines.

I do not want to comment about the case except that I sympathise with the baby's parents who must be terribly sad and at the same time angry with the said airline.

Things I hated in SIA were:

• pain in the ass bosses
• demanding and abusive passengers
• juniors who sucked up to seniors
• arrogant and brainless unionists
• cunning and hypocritical colleages
• senior staff from other divisions who find faults with crew who had served them on their flights.
• greedy pilots who quarreled with cc over f&b.
• kay kiang managers

Other than the above,life in SIA was wonderful.

The things I like and hate working for SIA (Singapore Airlines) cabin crew division pt. 5.

SIA is generous in bonus payout,often giving the staff an average of 4 to 6 months a year. It is a cash rich company and all those staff who served loyally for a long period of time had benefited from it.

Of course, SIA in the last 20 years were not as generous as it was in the 1970s or early 1980s,especially after it was listed on the S'pore stock exchange. The management had to answer to its shareholders for every little things. SIA became obsessed with the idea of cost cutting. The longer serving staff felt it more than the junior staff. Nevertheless, it's still a good company to work for.

One more thing before I forget was the privilege of having to work side by side with some of the prettiest girls. The other thing was also the honour of serving the likes of people like MM Lee and Mrs Lee, the late David Marshal,Prof. Tommy Koh etc.

Our rosters back then was lose and the night stops at outstations was relatively long. It's not that bad even at this time when most airlines are edging towards unprofitability due to high oil prices,cut throat competitons and protectionism.

Admittedly, Singapore Airlines is not only a great way to fly but a great employer to work for.

Now how about those things I hate working for SIA?.....hmmm will tell you more tomorrow.

The things I like and hate working for SIA (Singapore Airlines) cabin crew division. Pt. 4

No kidding in what I've said earlier on that a few of my ex-colleagues who nagged and complained about our ex-employer (SIA) were the most miserable people.
SIA was a great company to work for even at a time it was known as MSA (Malaysia Singapore Airlines).
At the time when SARS almost devastated the world's airlines, Singapore Airlines offered each one of us a "Golden Handshake" or pleasant way out. Most of us would have worked more than 30 years and were offered 25 months of our salary plus free travel etc to leave the company.
Our more junior colleagues like Samantha,Jui Li,Yuit Fung,Chris Teh, Keng Ann and a few others who had put in less than 15 years of continuous service were not offered the "Golden Handshake". All of these junior executives were graduates holding good degrees and had put in an average of 10 years. Our positions were made redundant and they had to be redeployed. People like Samantha who holds a 2nd upper and a masters in political science as well as Jui Li and Keng Ang, an ex-lawyer from KL had since left SIA. Yuit Fung has been redeployed as a station manager. Chris and Desmond had downgraded themselves to the IFS positions. If anyone were to complain, these younger ex-colleagues should be the ones.

Did I've an affair..Y ppl so kay poh ah??

This blog questions my extra-marital affair.

The things I like and hate working for SIA (Singapore Airlines) cabin crew division. Pt. 3

Not exaggerating but the pictures I posted here were quite close to the ones we were accorded when we were working for SIA. The food were expensive and hotels luxurious. Frankly, if we were to pay for them,we would at the end of each month had nothing left in our pay packets. Give you an example the Gloucester Hotel room at London costs $500 to $600 a night. Admitedly,Gloucester accord SIA the corporate rates which could be half of what I've mentioned....but still those room were too dear.
How to grudge or ever complain that SIA is a bad employer? Personally I can't although a few of my ex colleagues would (they were the most unhappy people I've ever come across).

The things I like and hate working for SIA (Singapore Airlines) cabin crew division.

As crew members, we have plenty of delicious food catered on the flight. Each crew would be given at least a main course plus maybe some dessert,bread rolls etc. As though this crew meal was not enough, we had surplus of first class, biz class and cattle class food. Always extra passenger food for the crew because if we had say 7 first class passengers, the airline would cater sufficient food to feed 12 passengers. So even all 7 paxs ate their share of food,we would have 5 portions of meals extra. Of course the damn cockpit crew would be given the first choice over cabin crew.
Talking about those jackass c'pit crew,there was one I remember who chastised the supervisor because the only f/c lobster leftover was not given to him but reserved for a stewardess. He took the trouble to search the f/c class galley for that lobster and found it hidden somewhere in the oven. So he called up the f/c crew and screwed the IFS in front of the junior cabin crew. Anyway,I don't wanna talk about that dead pilot( has since kick the bucket) so his soul could rest in peace or perhaps still in the habit of searching for lobsters.
As crew, we had the luxury of eating lobsters, rib eye steak,caviar, pate d foie gras and others.
Washing our hands with Dom Perignon( one of the finest champagne) was another luxury few could afford. Before the the flight ended we had to throw away all opened bottles of wine and champagne. These opened drinks could not be kept like we would do in our homes because of the temperature in the stores. So instead of just pouring them into aircraft sink,we would wash our hands and sometimes our faces with these champagne or wines.
There was an occasion when a male crew and myself was told by a custom officer we smelt like champagne as he cleared us at an Australian port. If it was a sexy female ozz officer, we would've let her lick the expensive Dom off our faces.....stay tun e hor cos more to come leh.

The things I like and hate working for SIA (Singapore Airlines) cabin crew division.

Hmmm...... come to think of it there only a few things I hate working for my previous employer,......or is it? Maybe as one gets older in age ( looks still look young la),one tends to forget things easily. Well,well,well I can't really really recall the things I detest about my previous employer,except for a few.
However, when it comes to the happy memories of working for SIA I can think of more,ya more nice memories than bad ones.
Let me start with the pros first.
Salary wise it was good. Imagine a 'O' level holder-trainer getting a basic and taxable allowances of around S$6,000 plus average of $1.5k a month(tax free). My colleagues and I travelled first class during our 'duty travel' (to do work overseas eg. crew interviews, surveys etc). During our vacation we were entitled to fly first class too. Our younger graduate colleagues were not given the same privileges. They could only fly f/c when they were promoted to the managerial positions.
We were encouraged to be members of the luxurious SIA sports club at a few bucks a month. If you do not have that bad habit of playing the 'one armed bandit' then it is profitable otherwise you will help SQ pay for the facilities. SQ sports club expenses and overheads are mainly sponsored by these gambling suckers.
All of us were given the opportunity of accumulating SIA shares years ago before SIA became a public company at the cost of a few bucks. These shares doubled and tripled through bonuses and splits etc. and best of all, SIA allow its staff to take company's loans to pay for the shares at low interest rates.
When SIA went public in the 1980s, many staff became rich. The shares they purchased averaged a dollar or two (depending when they bought them) and when SIA was listed on the stock exchange the shares were trading at around $5 per piece. The highest it went up was ard $18 plus. So can you imagine those of us who owned 100 lots or more and still keeping them? 100 lot or 100,000 SIA shares at today's value (S$15 now)equal 1.5 millions $. Plus on top of it all,we were given share options. For the option alone, a senior staff could have reaped a million bucks if it was bought say during the year 2000 and sold at 15 to 18 $ per pc.
SIA subsided staffs' hotel/chalets accommodation in near countries like Malaysia and the Asean regions. They may have discontinued this practice.
Perks aplenty if you worked for this airline. Heard SIA has cut back some of these perks. What about working condition? Super good I would dare say. I will get into that later.......