Hottest airline jobs in the Philippines: Slots open as recovery soars
Know the salaries of pilots, cabin and ground crew as industry recovers in Asian country
Manila: Jobs are aplenty in the country’s aviation sector, as airlines local and foreign feverishly working to boost capacity and mount more flights, are recruiting both cabin and ground support crew.
From cadet pilots to a fresh batch of cabin crew, airlines and aviation-related businesses are actively recruiting, with hundreds of slots open in different cities, though most of the jobs are currently in the capital Manila.
LinkedIn listed 765 airline-related jobs open in the Philippines this week, while job site Indeed listed 216 job openings so far.
Industry soars
A local civil aviation industry report, meanwhile, predicts airline revenue in the Philippines to reach $1.4 billion by 2026, up from $1.2 billion in 2021 — an annual growth rate of 1.4% since 2013, when the figure was $1.2 billion.
Fresh job posts
From aviation tax accountants to flight crew schedulers, customer care agents, aircraft mechanics, project managers and engineers, the job slots open are meant to fill slots across the airline and travel industry sectors.
JobStreet has posted dozens of aviation jobs too, from Flight Dispatch Officer, aviation project manager and cargo officer to operations crew controller.
The country’s fag-carrier Philippine Airlines, meanwhile, has posted jobs and is actively recruiting cabin crew, flight engineers and sales service representatives.
Cebu Pacific restored its pre-pandemic capacity in March, putting the Philippines’ largest budget carrier on the path to “full recovery and profitability” this year, after getting a 27.2-billion-pesos hit in 2021 and 23-billion-peso loss in 2020, according to a Bloomberg estimate. Now, Cebu Pacific is recruiting A330, A320 and ATR72 pilots and is also looking to fill slots for its cadet pilot programme and aircraft mechanics.
AirAsia is ramping up its manpower, unveiling plans to hire more pilots and cabin crew. The carrier's Philippine affiliate currently has 775 flight crew, 482 ground staff and 200 engineers on its payroll, according to an industry report. In the first two months of 2023, an initial 260 new pilots, cabin, ground, and technical crew were already hired.
AirAsia is still looking to hire more, according to a company spokesperson, without giving fresh numbers.
Recently, AirAsia CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes affirmed the airline’s thrust to help create more job opportunities for Filipinos in anticipation of further growth. The carrier posted job slots this week for avionics and ground support equipment (GSE) mechanic, ramp agent, flight operations tech support and documentation officers.
Ground crew
It’s not just flight or cabin crew jobs that are hotting up. On Friday (June 23, 2023), Hawaiian Airlines announced that it is moving its aircraft maintenance operations to the Philippines following an agreement with Singapore's SIA Engineering (SIAEC).
Recently, the carrier posted job slots for avionics and ground support equipment (GSE) mechanic, ramp agent, flight operations tech support and documentation officers.
According to recent data from the Bureau of Local Employment, the average monthly salary for a flight attendant in the Philippines ranges from 26,000 pesos to 80,000 pesos. This includes basic salary, allowances, and other benefits.
Slots for “air ticketing specialists” had been advertised with pay offers ranging from Php25,00 to Php40,000. TDCX Philippines, an affiliate of the Singapore-based company, is offering up to 34,000 pesos a month for travel support representatives.
Recovery
Now, with industry recovery on the way, its affiliate Cebgo is looking for quality assurance operations auditor and aircraft technical records analytst.
Outside Manila, NeksJob Philippines has posted jobs for airline call centre agents based in the southern city of Davao.
CAE, an aviation training institute, is also looking for a flight simulator instructor at its Mabalacat, Pampanga facility.
Clark International Airport, which recorded 189,000 passengers in May 2023, recently welcomed direct flights from Japan and South Korea, and is looking for aviation security officers as well as cargo aviation officer.
Topflight Academy, an aviation school, posted a 20,000-pesos-a-month job for an aircraft mechanic based in its Legazpi City facility.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts a global inventory of 34.4 million flights this 2023 (up 24.4 per cent on 2022, and just 11.5 per cent less than 2019 levels). Passenger revenues, meanwhile, are expected to reach $546 billion (up 27 per cent on 2022, and only -10 per cent less than 2019).
For the first time since the pandemic, the global commercial aviation industry is anticipated to turn a profit in 2023, however difficult-to-predict elements like fuel prices and increasingly harsh weather patterns will continue to pose challenges for the industry as a whole.