This payout has now been cut to $10,000, but a bigger gratuity awaits those who stay on: Junior crew who stay 10 years, for example, will now collect $3,500 - $5,000 more than before.

SIA has more than 7,000 cabin crew and although the number who leave before or after five years is not very high, it wants to retain experienced staff.

Read Karamjit Kaur's full story in Tuesday's edition of The Straits Times.