Qantas dis pule worsens

Press, 10 February 1981, Page 6

Qantas dis pule worsens

NZPA Sydney Qantas’s new Boeing 747 SP jumbo jet will be grounded at Brisbane’s Eagle Farm Airport until Thursday because of work bans enforced by its flight stewards. The confrontation between Australia’s international flag carrier and its 1700 flight stewards deteriorated again yesterday with the stewards banning bar service on all short-crewed Qantas flights and maintaining their black ban on the Special Performance jet. The stewards also decided to hold a fourth stop work meeting on Friday. The dispute, over the stewards’ claims for higher manning levels in the SP and consolidation of $960 in annual expenses into a fixed, $2O a week allowance, is now costing the airline business. More than 80 intending passengers yesterday switched to British Airways flights Among them was Mr. James Callaghan, the former British Labour Prime Minister, who was returning home after an Australian lecture tour. Hundreds Of Tasman passengers were held up yesterday because of the dispute and Air New Zealand aircraft problems. . Qantas cancelled one jumbo jet flight into and out of Auckland. All Qantas flights out of Sydney were grounded' for at least two hours after midday (New Zealand time) because of the

flight stewards’ third stop work meeting. Air New Zealand’s problem stems from the return to Brisbane of a DCIO service with 260 aboard bound for Auckland. The aircraft had been airborne for 40 minutes when one of its engines began to overheat. The crew shut down the malfunctioning engine before landing. A new engine was to be flown, with engineers, from Auckland to Brisbane yesterday, but the flight was not expected to take off before early today. Qantas flights in and out of Christchurch were unaffected by the flight stewards’ stop work meeting, the reservations supervisor (Mr S. Howes) said yesterday. “There was one flight from Christchurch to Sydney yesterday morning which was slightly delayed, but this was nothing to do with the industrial action,” he said. “But no more Qantas flights are due to come to Christchurch until Wednesday.” Mr J. L. Blair, public affairs officer for Air New Zea- . land, said that flights across . the, Tasman had been affected by delays of up to 2J hours since last Thursday, because of industrial action by radar staff, ‘ An Air New Zealand flight from Christchurch to Sydney, which was due to leave at noon yesterday, was delayed by 45 minutes.