Air N.Z. unable to crew flight

Press, 7 May 1984, Page 4

Air N.Z. unable to crew flight

PA Auckland Air New Zealand had to charter a Qantas jumbo jet and crews to fly a return Brisbane-Auckland flight on Saturday after the airline was unable to crew its own flight.

Two of the 15 cabin crew called in sick before the Auckland-Brisbane flight was due to leave and the remaining 13 cabin crew refused to fly without a full complement. The minimum staff required by law is 11. While the flight was delayed more than nine hours passengers were taken to hotels until the Qantas jet had brought passengers from Brisbane (that the scheduled Air New Zealand jet should have done), before taking the original flight out at 8.30 p.m. Nineteen staff were asked to volunteer their days off and work the flight, but none accepted. The airline’s public affairs manager, Mr Bob Wallace, said there had been an “extraordinary” high incidence of cabin crew reporting in sick recently.

At times during the last week the numbers had been more than double the normal rate, he said.

Mr Wallace said all cabin crew staff reporting in sick would now have to produce a medical certificate.

The union’s secretary, Mr Peter Best, said Air New Zealand was now reaping the consequences of its cost trimming exercises. There was not enough cabin crew and the hours they worked were causing illness. The four international cabin crew Air New Zealand reassigned to domestic services two weeks ago were told they would remain in international services, but the four, including a chief purser, will be restricted to short-haul routes, mainly across the Tasman Sea.

They were notified of a “modification” in the previous decision in a letter from the airline’s chief executive, Mr Norman Geary.

It followed the withdrawal by the Airline Stewards and Hostesses’ Union of 14 days notice of industrial action, and of a motion of no confidence the union passed in the airline’s manager of the cabin services department, Mr Graham Campbell. A final union meeting to ratify the withdrawal of the motion must be held early this week.