Qantas to start first cabin crew base in S’pore from September, plans to have 650 crew in 5 years
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Qantas said it aims to get 120 crew members for the Singapore base within the first year.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
- Qantas will launch a new cabin crew base in Singapore from September, aiming for 650 staff in five years to boost efficiency.
- Jetstar Airways' Singapore base will close; Qantas expects to offer new roles to its 50 Singapore-based crew, with former Jetstar Asia staff also eligible to apply.
- From Dec 7, Qantas will nearly double Airbus A380 use for Singapore-Sydney flights, increasing premium seats by 18% on 13 weekly services.
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SINGAPORE - For the first time, Qantas will have a cabin crew base in Singapore, starting from September, with plans to eventually scale up to 650 crew members in five years’ time.
The Australian national carrier
The roles will be for Singaporeans and Singapore permanent residents, with job advertisements due to go live on Feb 27.
The airline will join other international ones like Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific in having a cabin crew base here.
Singapore-based Qantas cabin crew will operate flights between Singapore and Australia, and be given competitive salaries, the airline told The Straits Times on Feb 26.
Currently, Qantas flies non-stop to Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin from Singapore, averaging 50 flights each week.
Qantas International chief executive Cam Wallace said the new Singapore cabin crew base will allow it to operate its growing international network more efficiently and respond faster to flight disruptions.
Singapore is Qantas’ largest international hub outside Australia and its third-largest overall, after Sydney and Melbourne.
It has about 10,000 cabin crew members in total at the moment.
Qantas said it expects to offer the roughly 50 Singapore-based cabin crew working for Jetstar Airways new roles with Qantas.
Webinars will also be carried out to inform them about the opportunity to join Qantas, the airline said, with town halls and team check-ins being conducted as well.
Former cabin crew with Jetstar Asia, which ceased operations in July 2025
The move to establish a cabin crew base here comes as Qantas announced it will nearly double the use of its Airbus A380 double-deck superjumbo on services between Singapore and Sydney.
With 485 seats in total, the aircraft will be operated on 13 out of the 14 weekly flights between the two cities from Dec 7. The remaining weekly service will continue to be flown by the airline’s smaller wide-body Airbus A330 jet.
Mr Andy Lim, secretary-general of the Singapore Manual and Mercantile Workers’ Union, an affiliate of the National Trades Union Congress (NTUC), said it welcomes Qantas’ plans to set up a cabin crew base in Singapore.
This will create job opportunities for workers in the aviation sector, as well as those who wish to join it.
He added that the union will work closely with NTUC’s Employment and Employability Institute and the airline to ensure the new roles come with fair wages, skills development opportunities and clear career pathways.
