From flying to air cargo, former Jetstar Asia employees land new jobs
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SAAA Cargo Services training and development manager Fatah Nawawi, who started the job in August, previously oversaw the training of all cabin crew at Jetstar Asia.
ST PHOTO: CHONG JUN LIANG
Follow topic:
- Jetstar Asia retrenched 550 staff, including Mr Fatah Nawawi and Ms Michele Lim Ly, causing distress and uncertainty among employees.
- NTUC organised a job fair with nearly 40 employers to support affected Jetstar Asia staff in finding new employment opportunities.
- Former Jetstar Asia employees are adapting to new roles, embracing learning, with some reprising similar positions elsewhere.
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SINGAPORE – After 15 years at Jetstar Asia, including 11 years spent training its cabin crew, it had become second nature for Mr Fatah Nawawi to dress for work in a shirt and tie.
But on the first day of his new job as a training and development manager at SAAA Cargo Services, the commercial arm of the Singapore Aircargo Agents Association, he was met with puzzled looks.
“You’re not from here, right?” one co-worker asked.
Mr Fatah, 37, is one of 550 Jetstar Asia staff who lost their jobs
After 15 years, the prospect of finding a new job was daunting, Mr Fatah told The Straits Times.
He joined Jetstar Asia in 2010 as a flight attendant, and after four years was promoted to oversee the training of all cabin crew.
“It was my comfort zone,” Mr Fatah said of the airline.
Learning that he would be retrenched was difficult. “It broke me.”
He was also worried that his skills would not be recognised and valued outside the airline industry, but decided to give SAAA Cargo Services a try after meeting the company’s representatives at a job fair.
The three-day job fair was organised for Jetstar Asia staff by the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) in June. Nearly 40 employers from a mix of industries
About a month into his new job, Mr Fatah feels more at home, and has ditched his tie in favour of more informal wear.
He now oversees training programmes offered by SAAA Cargo Services, including curriculum development, and will also create content for its social media platforms.
Learning the ropes of a completely new industry has been like “starting from ground zero”, he said. “But the people here (are) supportive, (and) they have been kind.”
In a Facebook post on Sept 10, NTUC secretary-general Ng Chee Meng said 90 per cent of Jetstar Asia’s pilots and cabin crew have secured interviews or job offers with organisations such as Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group and Marina Bay Sands.
Jetstar Asia had over 100 pilots and nearly 300 cabin crew among its 550-strong staff.
Two other former Jetstar Asia staff have reprised their roles elsewhere.
One of them is Captain Chng Kiat Siong, who joined Jetstar Asia in 2015 and has been a pilot with Scoot since August. With 25 years of flying experience – including with the Republic of Singapore Air Force – he said leaving the industry never crossed his mind.
Still, he felt a lot of insecurity about finding a job, which he said was assuaged by support from the airline and the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union.
Captain Chng Kiat Siong has been a pilot with Scoot since August.
ST PHOTO: SHINTARO TAY
The 46-year-old will fly Scoot’s Airbus A321 planes, which are slightly longer than the A320s he used to operate at Jetstar Asia.
“Everything is new; it’s very refreshing,” Capt Chng said, noting that Scoot is a bigger company and flies to more destinations.
“Of course... it’s definitely exciting to fly new (aircraft),” he added.
SIA Group said in June that it would create positions for retrenched Jetstar Asia employees
Flight attendant Michele Lim Ly, 49, crossed over to Scoot from Jetstar Asia in early August.
Flight attendant Michele Lim Ly joined Scoot in early August, following the closure of Jetstar Asia. She had also spent 27 years at Singapore Airlines previously.
PHOTO: SCOOT
She joined Jetstar Asia in 2024, just 1½ years before its closure. Before that, she had spent 27 years at SIA, and the last position she held was leading stewardess in 2021.
Her three-year break between SIA and Jetstar Asia made it clear that her passion was still flying, she told ST.
So when Jetstar Asia said it would close, she felt “a sense of disbelief and uncertainty”, she said.
While the work will be familiar, the challenge is “unlearning what I learnt at Jetstar Asia”, she said. She is undergoing training to work on the wide-body Boeing 787 Dreamliner, a bigger aircraft than the narrow-body A320s which she used to operate on.
The mother of two urged others who have been retrenched to stay positive and have an open mind.
“You must be willing to learn,” she added. “Learning keeps you going, and it is very satisfying.”
Mr Ng, who is also Jalan Kayu MP, said on Facebook that he recently met a group of former Jetstar Asia employees who had joined Scoot.
“They told me their experiences were a blend of anxiety and joy, particularly for one new father welcoming his second child while facing the challenges of Jetstar’s closure,” said Mr Ng.
As mid-career workers, the group were also concerned about adapting to new technologies and fitting into a new company culture, he added.
Mr Ng encouraged those still mulling over their next steps to approach career coaches at NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute and use its job matching services.
