SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) will do whatever it takes to ensure its long-term viability, the carrier's chief executive Goh Choon Phong said, a day after SIA reported that it lost $138 million between January and March.

It was the first quarterly loss in five years.

"We will take bold actions to address both revenue and cost," Mr Goh told reporters and analysts on Friday (May 19) morning.

"No stone will be left unturned," he stressed, adding that while jobs will not be cut, positions may become redundant as work is redesigned.

"There will certainly be changes in the way we do things and staff will have to pick up new skills," Mr Goh said.

He added that the company will look at ways to "support their retraining and redeployment".

The review will not impact customers, Mr Goh said. They can be assured that they will always be at centre of whatever the airline does.

Earlier the same morning, SIA announced that SIA Cargo, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SIA, will be re-integrated as a division within the SIA group.

The process, aimed at improving efficiency, is expected to be completed in the first half of 2018.

Most of SIA Cargo's nearly 900 employees will be retained in the new cargo division, while some will be transferred to other divisions, said Mr Goh.

The business review will be led by a new Transformation Office with seven staff. The head of the office will report directly to the CEO.