The Air Line Pilots Association-Singapore has argued that the carrier's pilots should receive enhanced salaries and benefits when they begin flying the superjumbo jet, which is scheduled to be delivered later this year.

The two sides have met before a three-member adjudication panel in the Industrial Arbitration Court since Monday to negotiate, and the hearing was wrapped up Wednesday, the union's president Captain P. James said in a telephone interview.

"We just made our presentation and argued why we thought the (pilots of) the A380 should be paid more," James said.

A date for the court's decision, which will be final and legally binding, has not been set, James said, adding the court said both sides had until May 3 to make final submissions on any other issues, after which it would set a date for the ruling.

Singapore Airlines will be the first carrier to fly the superjumbo when it takes delivery of the first 555-seat A380 in October. The union has argued that the A380 pilots should be paid more because the superjumbo is a bigger plane and carries more passengers.

Singapore Airlines is proposing to pay pilots of the A380 the same salary as that of pilots of the Boeing 777. Eventually, it intends to pay all pilots a common basic salary regardless of the type of aircraft they operate, with differences based on productivity.

James said the union is asking the airline to pay an A380 captain S$13,100 (US$8664; €6349) a month as a starting salary. This is compared to the starting pay of a Boeing 777 captain of S$9300 (US$6152; €4509) a month, according to media reports.

"Since there is no benchmark, being the first to operate the plane, we were extrapolating from our current salaries" using certain parameters such as passenger numbers and weight in arriving at the figure, James said.

In court over the past few days, Singapore Airlines' vice president of flight operations and chief pilot of the superjumbo Captain Robert Ting has said the new plane was not necessarily more difficult to fly, according to the Straits Times newspaper.

Ting said that technology and automation offset the impact on piloting of the added bulk of the A380, which is heavier, has a taller tail and longer wingspan compared to other jets, the report said.

Singapore Airlines on Wednesday offered an improved salary range for all its pilots, the union said, but its proposal was rejected, with James saying the court was not the appropriate forum to discuss such a plan.

Airbus plans to deliver the first A380 airplane to Singapore Airlines this October - a year later than originally planned. Subsequent deliveries have suffered longer delays, averaging two years, due to wiring problems in the double-decker jet.

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