Singapore Airlines has begun recruiting local staff to support the first international flights to Canberra in more than a decade.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The international carrier will create 15 jobs in the next two months for its ACT office, to be based at Canberra Airport.
The recruitment announcement was made at the ACT headquarters of the Smith Family on Thursday, which has partnered with the carrier to fund two students through its Learning for Life education assistance program helping disadvantaged children.
Most of the airline's new roles will involve sales and customer service, and positions are already open for a sales manager, corporate sales executive positions, and a senior customer service officer.
Singapore Airline's first international flight is expected to take place on September 21.
International services, known as the "Capital Express", will be available to Singapore and Wellington four times a week.
The announcement in January made Singapore Airlines the first carrier to fly directly to Canberra in more than a decade, and came after intense lobbying by the ACT government.
Roughly 120 jobs have already been created through the construction of a new terminal lounge at Canberra airport, using $18 million of airport money.
Next month, the airline will advertise for four full-time and two part-time customer service officers, while job ads for three sales officers will go up in July.
Singapore Airlines described the start of the recruitment process this week as a "significant milestone" for the its establishment in Canberra.
The airline's relations manager for the southwest pacific Karl Schubert said 17 staff would be in the office, with two brought in from Singapore.
The jobs are a clear direct economic benefit of the airline setting up shop in Canberra, but it is hoped the new routes will create better trading partnerships between the region and abroad.
"We've already seen a number of local regional councils coming on board to support the flights, particularly with the opportunity to open up trade options both down to New Zealand in Wellington and to the rest of the world," Mr Schubert said.
"There are certainly numerous opportunities here in the region, both from a trade and investment point of view, and also from a tourism point of view."
The airline will use a retro-fitted Boeing 777-200 for the flights, but will be loaded with more business class seats and fewer economy fares than usual.
Fares between Canberra and Singapore will cost from $650 for return economy and $3166 for business, while to and from Wellington will cost $469 for economy and $1450 for business class.
The airline also announced an extension of its partnership with the Smith Family on Thursday, saying it would sponsor two Canberra students through the Learning for Life program.
That program supports children in highly disadvantaged situations with long-term educational help.
It pays for books, uniforms, excursions, and out-of-school learning support.
Families are given financial support through a scholarship, and are provided with an advocate, or program coordinator, to support the family and keep the child engaged with school.
Disadvantaged families are also linked with other support services in a range of areas of need.
Smith Family regional programs manager Olga Srbovski said she had seen the life-changing impact the program had on children's lives.
"I've been here for almost 10 years now, and I've been lucky enough to take a journey with many children and families," she said.
"It's an exciting time for everybody because they started off as young children in primary school and now we're able to give them tertiary scholarships as they transition through high school and start their university or CIT journey."
"So it's made a big impact on many families."
She said many of the families that were supported had multiple disadvantages, whether it was financial, illness, or unemployment.
"They're isolated, they're socially excluded, they're financially excluded from a whole range of different things," she said.
"But what the Smith Family tries to do is to engage both families and the children and to try and have better outcomes for the young people that we look after."
