Skymark Airlines to introduce four-day workweek for office employees

Skymark Airlines has decided to introduce a four-day workweek for office employees, possibly beginning in the spring, as part of efforts to avoid staffing cuts amid low travel demand due to the coronavirus pandemic, a source with knowledge of the plan said Saturday. Although Japanese airlines have already cut the number of days that flight attendants work, Skymark is the first among them to decide on such a measure for employees at its headquarters or branch offices. The Tokyo-based budget airline, launched in 1996, plans to apply the measure to all office employees, not only those raising families or taking care of parents. But the new system will be adjusted as necessary to ensure that it does not affect business operations, the source said, adding that the airline will also consider offering flextime. Skymark will work out the specifics, including how to change its white-collar pay structure, in the upcoming months and try to introduce the four-day workweek — even if only partially — starting from April, according to the source. In the business year that ended in March last year, the airline, which is currently only operating domestic flights, mainly from Tokyo’s Haneda airport, posted a net deficit of Y1.2b and is expected to stay in the red in fiscal 2020.<br/>