Flight Attendant News

Introducing 'Cabin Crew News'

2007-01-03T12:47:00.000-10:00

Hello, and happy new year to everyone.

This post is to let you know that the Flight Attendant News blog has been renamed Cabin Crew News and has been re-located to a new address on the web. Go and have a look, and if you have this blog bookmarked, please change to the new address:

http://cabincrewblog.blogspot.com/

I'm glad you found this blog and I hope that you will now become a regular visitor to the new Cabin Crew News blog.

P.S. The web address of our main website - AircrewHealth.com - remains the same.

Happy Holidays

2006-12-24T17:20:00.000-10:00

This will be the final post in this blog for 2006 as we take off for a week or so to enjoy the holidays with family and friends. We'll be back to posting news for and about flight attendants around the world in the first week of January. 2007.

In the meantime, why don't you have a look at our Aircrew Health website. Here area few pages on the website that are of special interest to cabin crew:

We wish all the best to our readers and we hope that cabin crew all over the world have a healthy, safe, and Happy 2007.

New cabin crew uniforms for easyJet

2006-12-23T15:23:00.000-10:00

Cabin crew at UK-based airline easyJet will be wearing smart new uniforms in the new year. In order to come up with the new uniform design, the airline carried out a competition. Cabin crew members from various easyJet bases submitted design ideas, which were then voted on over a period of several months.

The winning design was announced yesterday on the Easier Travel website:

Almost eight months ago the search was on to create and design the new uniform of choice. After months of voting, the crew decided on three different designs.

Formal and Fabulous - designed by AnneMarie Cuffe from our Liverpool base, Joanne Todd and Kurt Wilson from our London Gatwick base.

Smart and Chic - designed by Leanne Fowgies from our Bristol base

Smart and Fabulous - is a Collaboration of Formal and fabulous & Smart and Chic, designed by Leanne Fowgies from our Bristol base, AnneMarie Cuffe from Liverpool and Joanne Todd & Kurt Wilson from London Gatwick.

The crew have had the final say and up until midday yesterday the designs were very close in competition, however easyJet are pleased to announce the winner is the Formal and Fabulous design.

Anne Marie Cuffe from Liverpool and Joanne Todd and Kurt Wilson from London Gatwick were delighted that their design will now enter the easyJet history books and been seen by millions across Europe on board next year.

Congratulations to Ms. Cuffe, Ms. Todd and Mr. Wilson for coming up with the winning design. It is indeed 'Formal and Fabulous.'

Click on the link below to see a photo of the new uniform.

Source: easyJet announce the new uniform across its European network - Easier Travel

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, easyJet, uniforms

Qantas flight attendant fired for 'sabotage'

2006-12-22T14:44:00.000-10:00

Australian media sources are reporting that a Qantas flight attendant has been fired by the airline for acts of 'sabotage.'

Here is what the Sydney Morning Herald says:

One allegation against the flight attendant is that he shoved blankets down toilets on a number of international flights.

A 747 flight from Sydney to Los Angeles is understood to have been grounded for 24 hours while engineers worked to fix the toilets.

The man is also accused of tampering with phones used by crew to communicate with each other.

The national carrier said today it had dismissed the flight attendant because of malicious damage to its aircraft.

"Following a number of incidents involving malicious damage to Qantas aircraft and an investigation by Qantas Group Security, a long haul flight attendant has had their employment terminated," a Qantas spokesman said today.

A spokesperson said that the matter has been referred to the Australian Federal Police for investigation.

Source: Qantas sacks flight attendant over 'sabotage' - Sydney Morning Herald

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants, Qantas

'Overweight' Indian cabin crew speaking out

2006-12-21T12:21:00.000-10:00

Last month I posted a story on this blog about cabin crew in India -- all women -- who were grounded for being overweight. The women, most of whom are in their forties, believe that the weight restrictions are a ploy "to replace mature crew with skinnier women to survive in a highly competitive industry."

Sheela Joshi, one of the grounded women, was interviewed on an Australian radio show called "PM". She explained to the interviewer what she believes to be the real reason that she and her colleagues were grounded by Indian Airlines.

"Not the weight. The weight is never the issue for the image. You see if I'm half a kg over do you think it will spoil the image of the airline? I don't think so.

"You know, it's just they want to get rid of the senior cabin crew and they want the younger cabin crew because they can hire the younger lot in a much lower salary than us. But we have given our best time to the airline, the best youth time to airline. Now if we want to go and look for a job elsewhere, we have to start from scratch, you see.

"That's where we feel very bad about, you know, like after putting in 24, 25 years of service in airline, if they want to say that now you can say goodbye because they're getting a lower salary cabin crew. That really makes anybody upset because, you see, now, at this age you cannot find a job elsewhere."

The interview was broadcast around Australia on Radio National and ABC Local Radio. You can listen to the interview or read a transcript on the website of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Here's the link:

Airline targets overweight flight attendants - Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, discrimination, flight attendants, India, Indian Airlines, labor issues

Cabin fire aboard Continental jet

2006-12-20T12:12:00.000-10:00

A few days ago, a Continental Airlines B737 en route from IAH to PDX had to divert to COS after a passenger's battery-powered 'personal air purifier' caught fire. The fire spread to a passenger seat.

Flight attendants were able to extinguish the fire quickly, but after the plane landed, four cabin crew and a passenger were taken to a hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.

Now FlightGlobal.com is reporting that the distributor of the air purifier has halted sales of the device.

US distributor EcoQuest International, which supplies the purifier, branded the 'Fresh Air Buddy,' had previously admitted to clients that 0.01% of its units had experienced a "rare problem."

The company attributed this either to faulty lithium batteries or to the use of non-rechargeable lithium batteries which had been recharged.

Just a day before the Continental Airlines incident, EcoQuest publicly stated that the purifier was safe to use as long as customers did not attempt to recharge non-rechargeable batteries and install them in the device.

"In light of an incident over the weekend involving a 'Fresh Air Buddy' that resulted in an aircraft returning to the airport, we have decided to suspend the sale of the 'Buddy' indefinitely," says EcoQuest.

Los Angeles-based Wein Products manufactures the purifier and the batteries. EcoQuest adds that it has advised customers to discontinue using the equipment immediately until the cause of the problem has been established and a solution developed with Wein.

By the way, two years ago the FAA banned the shipping of non-rechargeable lithium batteries as freight on passenger flights because of potential fire risk, but continues to allow passengers to bring them aboard in aircraft cabins.

Go figure.

Update, Dec. 22, 2006: Here is the link to the NTSB's preliminary report on this incident: NTSB Brief. A tip of the hat to "MarkHkg" for posting that link on the Safety and Security section of the forum on the Corporate Flight Attendant Community website.

Source: Lithium batteries suspected in Continental Airlines Boeing 737 cabin fire - FlightGlobal.com

Technorati Tags: airliners, airlines, air travel, aviation safety, cabin crew, cabin safety, Continental Airlines, flight attendants

JetBlue A320 to have fewer seats, fewer F/As

2006-12-19T11:12:00.000-10:00

JetBlue Airways is seeking to reduce costs in a somewhat novel way. They plan to remove a row of seats from their A320 aircraft.

Hmm, you say, how will that reduce costs? Won't that mean fewer fare-paying passengers?

Yes it will, but it will also reduce the weight of the aircraft, thus potentially saving fuel costs. More importantly, perhaps, removing six seats from the aircraft will mean that each flight can operate with three flight attendants instead of four.

From an article from a Utah newspaper, The Deseret Morning News, republished on the Airport Business website:

"This is an employee reduction, not a seat reduction," said James Corridore, a Standard & Poor's analyst in New York. "It's the reduction in personnel that would be the real benefit."

JetBlue plans to move some of the attendants to the 14 aircraft it will add to its fleet next year and offer "voluntary time-off packages" to others, spokesman Bryan Baldwin said in an interview. It hasn't been determined how many attendants will be affected, he said.

"We are not anticipating that's going to be a big issue," he said.

...

Removing seats on the 96 A320s will increase to 36 inches from 32 the pitch, or distance from one seat back to another, for rows 1 to 11. Pitch for rows 12 to 25 will remain at 34 inches. The changes will begin in January and finish by March.

The work will be done during overnight maintenance at a "very, very small cost," Baldwin said, declining to be more specific. Baldwin also declined to say how much revenue JetBlue may lose with fewer seats.

"The potential for lost revenue from taking those six seats out was far outweighed by the cost savings," he said. JetBlue won't charge more for seats in the rows with more leg room, Baldwin said. "This is seen as a huge benefit in cost savings for us."

It will be interesting to see if this actually pans out as a business decision. The article also notes that, a number of years ago, American Airlines removed seats from planes "to provide more room for passengers," but then "reversed that decision three years later and restored 12,000 seats to its fleet because of the lost revenue."

Some passengers may enjoy a little extra legroom, but will they also enjoy a lower level of service due to the reduction in crew?

Source: JetBlue Removing Seats to Cut Costs - Airport Business

Technorati Tags: airlines, airline jobs, flight attendants, flight attendant jobs, JetBlue Airways

Bankruptcy judge approves pay cuts for Comair F/As

2006-12-18T08:35:00.000-10:00

From an article on the Airport Business website:

Delta Air Lines Inc.'s commuter carrier won a bankruptcy judge's approval to cut wages for flight attendants and mechanics and end contributions to their pension plans.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Adlai Hardin Jr. in White Plains, N.Y., on Friday authorized Comair Holdings to impose hourly wage cuts of 7.5 percent for the cabin crews and 2 percent for the maintenance workers. Hardin also approved an increase in contributions to workers' 401(k) plans costing $156,000 a year.

As reported here last month, Comair's flight attendants have voted to accept the cuts.

Source: Bankruptcy Judge Approves Pay Cuts for Comair Workers - Airport Business

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, Comair, flight attendants, labor issues

BA closure of MAN cabin crew base angers MP

2006-12-12T16:12:00.000-10:00

From the Manchester Evening News in England:

BRITISH Airways' decision to close its cabin crew base in Manchester, forcing staff to relocate to Heathrow, has been slammed by a north west MP.

Warrington North's Helen Jones, who has constituents who will be affected by the move, said BA had failed to justify the closure and had not consulted employees and unions.

Ms Jones said: "British Airways is putting severe pressure on a long-serving workforce, many with children, who, in the run-up to Christmas, will find any relocation to Heathrow traumatic."

Source: MP slams cabin crew closure - Manchester Evening News

Technorati Tags: airlines, British Airways, cabin crew

Cabin crew salaries at NetJets Europe to increase

2006-12-05T14:43:00.000-10:00

An article on FlightGlobal.com says that crew salaries at NetJets Europe are about to be increased "in an effort to stem the loss of personnel and attract new staff to its rapidly expanding fractional ownership and charter operation."

Flight attendants at NetJets Europe will see their basic pay rise from €41,000-46,000 to €48,350. Higher salaries are paid to employees with more seniority.

All personnel are 'locked in' for a maximum duty requirement of 50 days a quarter. According to NetJets business development manager Robert Dranitzke, "We are guaranteeing a roster of six days on and five days off all year, although crews on the our ultra-long-range aircraft, such as the Gulfstream V, will have a seven/six and six/five combination." Crews have the option to work an extra six days per year at an increased pay rate.

NetJets Europe is the largest operator of private jets, executive jets and business jets in Europe.

Source: NetJets Europe forced to improve pay by up to one-third to retain staff after 'unacceptable' 8% annual attrition - FlightGlobal.com

Technorati Tags: business jets, cabin crew, executive jets, flight attendants, labor contracts, NetJets Europe, private jets

New uniforms for Gulf Air Cabin Service Managers

2006-12-04T14:19:00.000-10:00

Cabin Service Managers who work for Gulf Air will don stylish new uniforms later this week. At Gulf Air, Cabin Service Managers manage all aspects of the in-flight service including the supervision of the team of Flight Attendants. The new uniform will distinguish them from the rest of the crew "so that passengers can identify and approach them, should they require their services."

According to an article on the Al Bawaba website:

The new outfit has been designed by internationally renowned, Paris-based designer house, 'Creation & Image,' creators of Balmain brand uniforms.

"Gulf Air's inflight costume is a reflection of what Gulf Air is all about – the hallmark Arabian hospitality, warmth, presentation, progression, modernity and above all, our corporate statement," says Gulf Air Vice President of Marketing and Sales Lee Shave.

...

The entire Balmain Uniform Design Team worked for months to define the new image, under the guidance of its Artistic Director Christophe Galibert.

"We had several brainstorming sessions on how to express the soul, sprit and elegance of Gulf Air in the uniform," says Galibert.

"We have tried to fuse a timelessness and modernity at the same time without being too fancy and maintaining the visual link and identity with the cabin crew uniform."

Gulf Air employs 1,962 Flight Attendants representing 80 different nationalities out of which 270 are Cabin Service Managers.

Source: Gulf air to unveil avant-garde livery for cabin service managers - AlBawaba.com

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, Gulf Air, uniforms

No union for Frontier F/As

2006-11-30T16:33:00.000-10:00

For the fifth time, flight attendants at Frontier Airlines have voted against being represented by a union.

According to an Associated Press article on the Rocky Mountain News website:

Airline spokesman Joe Hodas said 334 votes were cast in favor of representation, short of the minimum of 445 votes needed for the measure to pass.

Chief Executive Officer Jeff Potter was pleased with the results. "I want to thank our flight attendants once again for providing us the opportunity to address their concerns without third-party intervention so that we can jointly decide what’s best for the future success of our company," he said in a statement.

This was the first time that the International Brotherhood of Teamsters campaigned to represent the flight attendants, Hodas said. The Association of Flight Attendants managed four previous attempts.

Denver based Frontier Airlines employs nearly 890 flight attendants.

Source: Frontier flight attendants refuse union offer - Rocky Mountain News

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, Frontier Airlines, flight attendants, labor unions

Radioactive substance discovered on BA planes

2006-11-29T14:20:00.000-10:00

If you haven't yet heard this news, you probably haven't watched television or read a newspaper today. The story is everywhere. Three British Airways aircraft have been grounded after the discovery of 'traces of radioactive substance' aboard the planes.

Here is what a notice on the British Airways website had to say about this incident:

British Airways has been advised that three of its Boeing 767 short haul aircraft have been identified by the UK government as part of the investigation into the death of Alexander Litvinenko.

The airline was contacted last night (Tuesday, November 28) by the government. It has taken the three B767s out of service to enable forensic examination to be carried out.

The initial results of the forensic tests, which was confirmed late this afternoon, have shown very low traces of a radioactive substance onboard two of the three aircraft.

British Airways has been advised that this investigation is confined solely to these three B767 aircraft, which will remain out of service until further notice.

British Airways understands that from advice it has been given that the risk to public health is low.

The airline is in the process of making contact with customers who have travelled on flights operated by these aircraft, which operate within Europe.

Flights affected are listed here.

UK nationals on these flights who wish to receive further advice are advised to telephone NHS Direct on:-
0845 46 47 from within the UK or

+ 44 845 4647 from outside the UK
This number can only be dialled from a mobile number.

For all non-UK nationals, please contact your local doctor.

Only customers who have travelled on these specific flights are asked to telephone NHS Direct or seek medical advice locally.

British Airways has set up a special helpline for customers
in the UK on 0845 6040171
or + 44191 211 3690 for international calls
Information is also available from the following websites:
NHS Direct www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Health Protection Agency Information www.hpa.org.uk
Further information will be released as it becomes available.

Here is the list of flights that may have been affected:

Flight information for aircraft undergoing forensic tests - British Airways

You can also visit the British Airways website for further information and updates.

Source: Forensic tests on three Boeing 767 aircraft - British Airways

Technorati Tags: air travel, airlines, British Airways, radiation

Air Canada cabin crew injured by turbulence

2006-11-19T12:17:00.000-10:00

It's probably safe to say that every day, somewhere in the world, some flight attendant is injured because of turbulence. Most of the time, the story never makes the news. Once in awhile it does.

Today we learn from the news media that four Air Canada cabin crew were injured aboard a B767 bound from Shanghai to Vancouver. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Tokyo after the incident. The injured crew were hospitalized, but their injuries were not believed to be serious.

We hope that they recover quickly.

Sources: Four Air Canada flight attendants injured - UPI News
Air Canada flight from China forced into emergency landing - CBC News

Technorati Tags: Air Canada, air travel, airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants, injury, turbulence

Indian cabin crew grounded for being overweight

2006-11-16T08:46:00.000-10:00

If you think that 'weight checks' of cabin crew by airline management are a thing of the distant past, think again. A Reuters article on the MSNBC news website tells of a legal battle going on between cabin crew in India and their employer. The Indian crew were grounded for being overweight. Claiming a breach of their constitutional rights, they are suing the airline to win back lost wages.

"The company told me that I was above the limit and that I should go home until I had lost the excess weight," said 48-year-old Sheela Joshi, who was found to be 500 grams (18 ounces) above her allowed 63 kilos.

"I had to go on a serious diet and it took me over 1½ months to lose weight and I wasn’t paid by the company. It was a stressful period, and I lost confidence in myself."

Lawyers for the company, known as Indian Airlines until last year, say the women are contractually obliged to meet weight guidelines for health reasons.

"This is an issue about fitness not about image. Cabin crew need to be physically fit for their work," Rupinder Singh Suri, the company's lawyer, told Reuters.

The women, most of whom are in their forties, believe that the weight restrictions are a ploy "to replace mature crew with skinnier women to survive in a highly competitive industry."

It could be true. The article also says that Indian stopped recruiting male cabin crew in 1988. The weight restrictions apply to the remaining male cabin crew as well, 20 of whom also were barred from work for being too heavy.

Source: ‘Out of shape’ hostesses to fight Indian airline - MSNBC News

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, discrimination, flight attendants, India, Indian Airlines, labor issues

Northwest hiring F/As for DTW

2006-11-15T19:26:00.000-10:00

According to an article in the Detroit Free Press, Northwest Airlines is seeking to recruit about 250 new flight attendants for its Detroit Base.

The vacancies come after about 830 laid-off attendants agreed to return to the airline, said Ricky Thornton, spokesman for the Association of Flight Attendants, which represents Northwest's 9,000 attendants.

Northwest flight attendants are working under imposed work rules that have cut wages after workers rejected two concessionary agreements.

The hourly wage for a first-year Northwest attendant is $17.20 for the hours that an attendant is on a plane that has departed the gate, according to the imposed contract.

Depending on the number of hours an attendant flies, a starting flight attendant can earn as much as $23,000 annually, Breest said.

The first class for new flight attendants at Northwest will begin in January. To apply, phone 866-433-4692.

Source: Northwest to hire 250 attendants at Metro Airport - Detroit Free Press

Technorati Tags: airlines, AFA, Association of Flight Attendants, cabin crew, flight attendants, labor issues, labor unions, Northwest Airlines

Comair flight attendants approve wage cuts

2006-11-14T13:17:00.000-10:00

According to an Associated Press article appearing on ABC News and elsewhere, Comair flight attendants have voted to accept cuts in wages and other concessions in a deal the airline said was necessary for it to emerge from bankruptcy protection.

Comair and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters representing the airline's flight attendants reached a tentative agreement last month, four days after Comair said it would impose wage cuts and changes in work rules for the flight attendants on Nov. 15.

Union spokesman Galen Munroe said that the deal was ratified overwhelmingly but he did not have the exact count.

...

Officials with Local 513 of the Teamsters declined to release a dollar figure for the package of concessions before the vote by union members. The company says the package totals $7.9 million a year.

The deal will still have to be approved by a federal bankruptcy court. If approved, the agreement would take effect Dec. 31 unless the pilots union reaches a deal with the airline before that date.

Source: Comair Flight Attendants Approve Cuts - ABC News

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, Comair, flight attendants, International Brotherhood of Teamsters, labor issues

Delta will recall 1,000 flight attendants in 2007

2006-11-09T14:39:00.000-10:00

Things may be looking up at Delta Airlines. Company officials say that the carrier is on track to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the first half of 2007. They also said that they plan to recall 1,000 flight attendants in 2007, with about 500 recalls planned in January.

We'll keep our fingers crossed that this does indeed come to pass. It's been a long road for Delta crews. At the present time, about 3,800 Delta flight attendants and 390 pilots are on furlough.

Source: Delta Recalling 1,000 Flight Attendants - Houston Chronicle

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, Delta Airlines, flight attendants, labor issues

Women at Alitalia finally allowed to wear trousers

2006-11-09T14:20:00.000-10:00

Good news for Italian flight attendants, especially with winter approaching: Alitalia, Italy's flagship airline, has finally agreed to allow its women cabin crew to wear trousers as a part of their uniform.

According to an article in the International Herald Tribune:

Following negotiations with unions, Alitalia will offer the new option starting next Wednesday, said Rosanna Ruscito, a representative of the Fit-Cisl union and a flight attendant herself.

"We spend our working days traveling from one airport to the other, with great weather differences, snow and freezing temperatures, only wearing a little skirt," she said. "If I go to a warm country, then I prefer the skirt, but if I go to Chicago, Moscow or New York, I want to be free to choose to wear pants" in the winter.

Ruscito said Alitalia had so far not allowed its female crew members to wear trousers because it wanted to project "an image of femininity."

Alitalia flight attendants are considered icons of Italian beauty and style, and top fashion designers have been enlisted over the years to create their prim jackets and skirts.

Ruscito said some Alitalia ground workers already wear pants, and it would not be expensive for the company to produce more.

Welcome to the 21st century, Alitalia!

Source: Alitalia female flight attendants allowed to wear trousers instead of skirts - International Herald Tribune

Technorati Tags: airlines, Alitalia, cabin crew, flight attendants

NTSB recommends safety training for Part 135 cabin crew

2006-11-02T17:25:00.000-10:00

If you fly chartered business jets (or plan to do so), you might want to have a look at an article that I wrote on Aircrew Buzz yesterday.

The article is about a recommendation made by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) following its investigation of the crash of a small jet at Teterboro, New Jersey in 2005. Some of the injuries to the passengers on that flight were attributed to the fact that the woman working in the cabin had no safety training.

The NTSB recommendation is straightforward:

Requiring that any cabin personnel on board Part 135 flights who could be perceived by passengers as equivalent to a qualified flight attendant receive basic FAA-approved safety training in a least the following areas (incomplete safety briefing was giving on accident flight): preflight briefing and safety checks; emergency exit operation; and emergency equipment usage. This training should be documented and recorded by the Part 135 certificate holder.

At the present time, such safety training is not legally mandated. While this may be shocking to airline flight attendants, it is not news to those who work in corporate aviation.

Let's hope that the people at the FAA pay attention to this recommendation.

Read all about it here: Business Jet Charters: Cabin crew issues - Aircrew Buzz

Technorati Tags: air charter, aircraft accidents, aviation safety, business jets, cabin crew, executive jets, flight attendants, National Transportation Safety Board, NTSB

Pay increase for Air Canada Jazz cabin crew

2006-11-02T16:56:00.000-10:00

Cabin crew at Canadian regional airline Air Canada Jazz soon will be receiving bigger paychecks.

According to a Reuters article on Airwise.com:

Jazz said attendants represented by the Teamsters Canada union will be awarded a 1 percent wage increase this year, backdated to June 1, with 1.75 percent next June and 1.75 percent on June 1, 2008.

The arbitrator also granted the employees full participation in the company's profit-sharing plan.

The pay increases match those given last July to employees represented by the Canadian Auto Workers union.

Jazz flight attendants are now eligible for profit sharing, as well.

Source: Air Canada Pilots, Jazz Attendants Win Pay Rise - Airwise.com

Technorati Tags: Air Canada Jazz, cabin crew, flight attendants, labor issues

Mesaba flight attendants have a deal

2006-10-29T15:17:00.000-10:00

Good news at last for the flight attendants at Mesaba! A tentative agreement on contract terms has been reached by Mesaba Airlines and the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), the union that represents Mesaba's flight attendants.

Information about the agreement is still sketchy, but an Associated Press article published on Breitbart.com says:

If a deal had not been reached, Mesaba had the authority from the judge to impose labor cost cuts of 17.5 percent.

Details of the agreement were not immediately released. Flight attendants have the right to accept or reject it.

We made a quick check on the AFA website, and the union does not yet appear to have issued a press release about today's agreement. (Well, it is Sunday, after all!) If and when AFA issues a statement on the agreement with Mesaba, we'll report on it here.

Source: Mesaba, Flight Attendants Reach Deal - Breitbart.com

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants, labor issues, labor unions, Mesaba Airlines

Republic Airways recruiting flight attendants

2006-10-28T18:29:00.000-10:00

Looking for a job as a flight attendant with a regional carrier?

Here's a tip: Republic Airways has plans to grow its flight attendant work force by about 350, according to a press release issued by the company.

Here's the information from the press release:

All three of Republic’s carriers – Chautauqua Airlines, Republic Airlines and Shuttle America – expect to add Flight Attendants thanks to the company’s strong partnerships with American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, US Airways, and beginning in 2007, Continental Airlines. The company’s existing flight attendant workforce of approximately 1,100 is expected to grow to 1400 by early 2007, and a series of flight attendant training classes are scheduled for the next four months to accommodate the expansion. Republic Airways recently held recruiting sessions in Greensboro, North Carolina, Louisville, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Indiana and New York where over 600 flight attendant candidates participated in the recruiting sessions.

...

Open house recruiting sessions will be held Wednesday November 1st beginning promptly at 10:00 a.m., 2:00 pm and 6:00 p.m. at The Marriott Courtyard Dayton North located at 7087 Miller Lane rd. just off Interstate 75 South at exit 59. Please note the doors to all recruiting sessions will close promptly at the beginning of the session.

Candidates must be 19 years of age with a high school diploma/GED, customer service skills and good communication skills. Please complete an on-line application and bring two valid forms of ID to the Marriott Courtyard Dayton North. The employment package includes paid training, generous health insurance and related benefits, as well as travel benefits. For more information and to complete an on-line application candidates should visit our employment website at http://jobs.rjet.com

The three Republic-owned airlines operate a series of flight attendant crew bases at Indianapolis, Louisville, Buffalo Greensboro, St. Louis, New York LaGuardia, Columbus, Richmond, Chicago O'Hare, Washington Reagan National Airport, Pittsburgh, and Orlando. New hire flight attendants must be willing to relocate initially to any of these bases, but if eligible, can bid for openings at a preferred base. The company works with flight attendants to help them secure their preferred base as quickly as possible.

Read the rest of the press release here: Republic Airways to Host Recruiting Sessions in Dayton, Ohio as it Launches Plans to Hire More Than 350 Flight Attendants in Preparation for 2007 Growth - BusinessWire.com

For more leads to other flight attendant jobs, visit http://www.JetVenue.com/

Technorati Tags: airlines, airline jobs, regional airlines, flight attendants, flight attendant jobs, Republic Airways

Those dirty airplanes!

2006-10-25T06:58:00.000-10:00

Quite a few flight attendants I know are germaphobes. No wonder! Have a look at what this New York Times article, reprinted in the International Herald Tribune, has to say about dirty airplanes:

Airlines in the United States, which have been paring their fleets to cut costs, are flying their jets fuller than ever - and some of them are just a little too crowded not to be smelly. After dispensing with the expense of most meal service, airlines invited passengers to bring their own food aboard, and many planes now land littered with a smorgasbord of wrappers and leftovers.

Once on the ground, there are fewer employees to tidy up, thanks to widespread layoffs. And planes, which make money only when they fly, sit at the gate for shorter periods, often making cleanup a rush job.

"You put your hand in the seatback pocket and there's an open McDonald's ketchup container in there," said Joe Brancatelli, a frequent flier who runs an advice Web site for business travelers. Tidiness has declined in recent years, he said. "The problem is they've made so many cuts."

When cleaning is outsourced, "it's another part of the airline business that goes to the lowest bidder," he said.

And when outside food was invited aboard, routines for taking care of trash went awry. "A lot of inconvenient garbage," Brancatelli said. "The airlines can't control it. They can't plan for it."

The article points out that the airplanes flown by carriers in bankruptcy sometimes are dirtier, for financial reasons. The writer offers this example:

While the U.S. industry standard for deep-cleaning a jetliner - a process similar to having your car professionally detailed - is roughly every 30 days, Delta had let its schedule lapse to every 15 to 18 months. That is akin to cutting your daily shower back to once every couple of weeks. Just months after Delta began installing new interiors, including pricey leather seats, Canavan and his staff were surprised to find that some of the planes were already filthy. Thus began a humbling airlinewide effort to become neater.

Two cleaning contractors were fired for slipshod performance. Deep cleaning - an intense and precisely scripted process of brushing, scrubbing and vacuuming - now occurs at least every 30 days on Delta planes, bringing Delta up to par. A crew of auditors checks up on the cleaners.

The article cites some statistics from J.D. Power and Associates, a market research company that surveys passengers about airline cleanliness (among other things) and then rates the carriers based on survey results.

Delta came in third in the J.D. Power survey this year, behind JetBlue and Southwest. At the bottom of the survey, which ranked only North American airlines, were Northwest and US Airways.

The article notes that the FAA doesn't set cleanliness standards for aircraft.

Passengers have the occasional unclean encounter on an airplane, but hygiene shortcomings may be most apparent to airline workers.

One reason that JetBlue and Southwest, two low-cost carriers, won high marks is that their planes are newer. Also, though they tend to have fewer ground employees than airlines like United Airlines and American Airlines, they have company cultures that encourage flights attendants, gate agents and, at JetBlue, even pilots to tidy up.

Delta, with an aging fleet, says its own surveys show that passengers rate the food tastier, the seat roomier and the flight prompter when the plane's interior is new and clean.

"If the seat has crumbs in it, then you're probably not doing your engine maintenance - that's how people think," said James Whitehurst, chief operating officer at Delta. "People are disgusted by dirty airplanes."

Yes, and the cabin crew are disgusted, too!

Read the whole article here: Pigsties in the sky get a cleaning - International Herald Tribune

Technorati Tags: airliners, airlines, cabin crew, flight attendants

Update: Finnair strike ends

2006-10-23T06:53:00.000-10:00

From the business website Forbes.com, we learn that a cabin crew strike that grounded a large part of the Finnair fleet last week has ended.

The strike ended Friday evening with Finnair agreeing to shelve plans to hire some 500 new flight attendants under new contractual terms, state broadcaster YLE reported.

For its part, the cabin crew union agreed that its members would be more flexible on rest breaks between flights.

The dispute centred around Finnair's plans to recruit new staff through its Estonian airline Aero, enabling the group to pay them less than they would be entitled to were they directly employed by Finnair.

For now, new recruits will be paid at the normal rate under an existing labour contract at Finnair.

That contract runs out next year.

Source: Finnair flights return to normal as cabin crew strike ends - Forbes.com

Technorati Tags: airlines, cabin crew, Finnair, flight attendants, labor issues, labor unions