Singapore Airlines cut Chief Executive Officer Chew Choon Seng’s salary by 20% and parked planes in response to a global travel slump. It didn’t touch the $11 million it spends annually on wine and Dom Perignon champagne for first-class passengers.
Luring travellers back into premium seats is key for Chew to end a run of two consecutive quarterly losses, the airline’s worst streak in at least seven years. First-class and business class passengers account for about 40%, or $6.4 billion, of the carrier’s sales.
