Singapore Airlines, British Airways, United Airways and Kingfisher Airlines all reported better than expected earnings for the three months ended 31-Dec-2009. The reason: they each aligned capacity levels much more closely with demand; but it was their action in slashing into labour costs that really made the difference. In a CAPA sample of airline earnings for the latest quarter ended (31-Dec-2009) only seven of 25 airlines reported lower wages bills, despite industry capacity reductions in Oct-2009, Nov-2009 and Dec-2009 of 3.3%, 1.4% and 0.7%, respectively. This does not augur well for 2010, with unions expected to push for higher wages as the airline traffic recovery takes hold.