Air Macau cuts wages of some pilots, crew by 90% - report - ch-aviation

Air Macau (NX, Macau International) has cut the wages of flight and cabin crew retained outside the territory by 90%, sources told the Tribuna de Macau newspaper. These are mostly personnel stranded in other parts of the world because of the coronavirus pandemic.

About 70 of the carrier's pilots have been left beyond the Chinese special administrative region due to travel restrictions, receiving just 10% of their base salary and housing allowance. Forced to keep up rent payments both in Macau and where they are currently living, many have had to cancel lease contracts and sell their belongings to pay expenses.

Employees still in Macau are still receiving about 80% of their salaries, however, and some continue to work. About 15 of the airline's pilots and 15 co-pilots are currently operating flights on a daily basis, the newspaper reported.

“The big disappointment is that Air Macau is paying pilots who are stuck outside Macau only 10% of their basic salary. Keep in mind that the majority of the crew's salary is made up of functions performed during flights and other incentives, so the basic salary is a relatively low amount,” a source said.

“Employees outside Macao are confused” and “do not understand why there is such a wide disparity in wages between crew members who are stranded abroad and those who are in Macau but who cannot fly either,” the source continued.

Co-pilots outside Macau are receiving about MOP11,000 patacas (USD1,380) in total, according to the source, pilots MOP16,000 (USD2,000), and flight attendants MOP4,460 (USD560).

In early May, Simon Chan, president of Macau's Civil Aviation Authority, warned that Air Macau would proceed with wage cuts to avoid laying off employees. To maintain their licence, the territory's pilots must have completed at least three take-offs and landings within the last 90 days. Given today's frequencies, about 100 pilots at the carrier have not been able to keep up with this requirement, the source told Tribuna de Macau.

During July, the airline plans to resume 1x weekly flights from Macau International to Bangkok Suvarnabhumi, Guangzhou, Kaohsiung, Seoul Incheon, and Tokyo Narita. Daily flights to Taipei Taoyuan will rise to 2x daily from July 16. Air Macau currently operates a fleet of one A319-100, six A320-200s, four A320-200N, ten A321-200s, and one A321-200NX, according to the ch-aviation fleets module.