Magicbox you have done it now given JQ the new idea - casual pilots - pay for your own endorsement - then they give you a guarantee of 10 hours a week say - hourly rate. Everyone can sit out at the airport in case anyone goes sick !
Don't laugh they do it in other industrys - get casuals in and give them minimal work and they are all super keen to work - easy to find people falling over themselves looking to work when the 'unreliable full time' staff all go sick when they are actually unwell.
Heard some stories about some of the MAM QF casuals flying when grossly unwell simply because they couldn't afford not to do the flight to put food on their table - sure they except it but a lot of people out there want to be FAs as bad as some people want to be pilots - hence why the FAs are getting poked in the posterior with a blunt stick as well !
Jeezzzzzzz Puff, Magic might have put out an idea but your telling everyone how to go about it! Hopefully the cost of competency checks and currency, amongst other things, should/could keep this lunacy at bay! But!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Lets be careful out there! Wide1.
Many moons ago, I worked for a UK mob, who had about 30:40:30 permanent staff:contractors (me): casuals ----- this included Captains, F/Os and E/O, the fleet was a mixture of B707, both JT-4 straight pipe, and various JT3B variants.
Only two out of eight had a common cockpit, which made it a trifle interesting at times, at least at OneStar it is going to be one type.
Maybe you could even get the FOIs and "sick" pilots from other airlines moonlighting, as we used to in UK.
The rot has indeed set in. For some time now Qantas has had some pilots only doing a few sectors a month. Must be very disheartening. It's no way to treat professionals is it?
Apparently at least two casual flight attendants have been stood down in the last week or two by the catins on a330 flights for a demonstrated lack of knowledge of basic emergency proceedures. one a330 skipper I was talking to in the crew room recently,said he is now telling his CM that he will be questioning the casual crew, and will have no problem standing any down that don't know or are unable to explain to him their duties in variou EMG situations.
To get a balanced outcome, I wonder has this particular A330 Captain questioned any other cabin crew to see if they are at the required standard or has he only questioned casual staff?
It could be entirely possible that this is a problem across the complete cabin crew workforce if it is now being demonstrated that some staff are not up to speed.
I would imagine that whether you are full time, part time, or casual, the training standards would all be the same.
Altara provides casuals to both Jetstar and Tiger Airways with recruits having no say who they're contracted to. My understanding.
Perhaps the training is the same, but the mentality of an 18 year old (eg) who knows they're going to move jobs before to see his/her first EP renewal makes them a little slack to worry about safety or bother to keep it fresh in their minds?
And yes, if a company is desparate to get numbers they will pass trainees with an extra needed mark here and there. Seen it first hand happen in my initials (not in my current airline though).
This A330 Captain who has allegedly taken it on himself to start questioning fellow crew-members about their knowledge perhaps needs to exercise a degree of discretion and diplomacy.
The last thing we need to do is start bickering amongst ourselves. That simply plays further into the hands of divisive managers who like nothing better than to foster disharmony amongst the ranks.
at least two casual flight attendants have been stood down in the last week or two by the catins on a330
Casual crew are not trained nor endorsed on the 330 - perhaps the rumour refers to the Singapore or Bangkok based full-time contracted crew?
And it's not only the guys at the Business end who are getting hot under the collar due to a few (and I do mean a very select few, as opposed to the majority) of the new crew. While the level of training is obviously acceptable for CASA (surprise surprise...), it most certainly will not be acceptable for any passengers, crew - technical or otherwise, or any of the family or friends of any of those groups of people who find themselves on a burning rig hurtling towards terra firma. It is unfortunately only then that our concerns will be taken with any degree of seriousness.
I personally do not see a crew member who does not understand basic EP's or SOP's, especially in regards to Secondary Notifications, use of BCF's and other equiptment, or emergency door operation as a valuable member of any flying team. Anyone who might suggest that they would arm their door and then open it upon hearing the "Alert Phase" PA might well benefit from a little more work at the very least...
Cabin crew need all the support and clout of our pilot friends on this one. On $36k a year, and with a line up out the door and around the corner of eager kids ready to replace us, we truly can't afford balls....
If a airline went down the road of casual pilots 1 of 2 things would happen....
1. Company would have a heap of extra 6monthly sim checks to cover as all pilots would need a current OCA check for that particular operation, as well as Avsec, DG and other required flightcrew training. I doubt any company would do that....
or 2. Casuals required to pay for their own 6 monthly sim checks, Avsec and DG currency, and that would not be economically viable to anyone, so a lack of casual crew supply would negate the need.
AirNZ maintains a pool of casual staff, mainly from experienced ex-full-timers wanting a reduced work lifestyle. Any newbies are usually full-time temps on 12month contracts with option to apply for fulltime. Very occasionally there isn't fulltime jobs for the temps at the end of 12months but mostly they'll get picked up or finish of their own accord.
hii guys.. just wondering if anyone can help me, i have been offered a casual cabin crew position with jetstar via altara resources... and i am wondering if anyone can give me an idea of how many hours a week this involves... i am currently in a full time position 38 hours a week, and am a bit confused on making my descions.... any help would be appreciated... thank you
mainly from experienced ex-full-timers wanting a reduced work lifestyle.
That's where limited casualization can work well for a company.
Quote:
On $36k a year, and with a line up out the door and around the corner of eager kids ready to replace us, we truly can't afford balls....
And that's where it doesn't. It produces bad enough results when you're only looking at customer service such as in a shop or hotel environment, but to trust airline safety procedures to a revolving cast of 18 year olds on 36K (if that's an accurate figure) is irresponsible and asking for trouble. It's a job with important safety related tasks that need to be done correctly.
Wouldn't working in a decent restaurant or shop get you more than $36K pa? Why work for Jetstar?
Last edited by Worrals in the wilds; 8th Aug 2010 at 08:05.
Reason: apostrophes gone wild
Hopefully the cost of competency checks and currency, amongst other things, should/could keep this lunacy at bay! 
They're called consultants !
