Branson's bitch...
Based on what people have said here, and you yourself, would you please enlighten me as to the following:
Regarding Tiger's AWA:
"I have... i am stating what i have read.. and to me it looks considerable better and fairer than what i have been on before.
YES .. virgin... Qantas.... ansett..... and an overseas carrier.. "
If half of what is stated on here is fact (regarding Tiger's conditions), then I am at a loss how you come up with that conclusion. As far as the domestic airlines are concerned in Australia, Qantas has the best terms and conditions of employment (as did Ansett). Virgin & Jetstar share the next step down from QF.
If Tiger (notice how I'm using IF here) is proposing 1 hr callout, only 10 days sick leave, 6 sectors is the case...then how do you arrive at the conclusion that these conditions are considerably
better and fairer than the other airlines?? If anything - considerably LESS than the established airlines, and newer low cost airlines.
As for your comments on sick pay:
"Sick Pay AT LAST ... some of us don't even get a day sick pay, so for me ten days is a blessing.... Also , i don't get this flight attendant mentality.. of getting sick all the time... i have had one bad flu in 4 years... note... take on some vitamins.... eat some fresh food.. and look after yourself..."
For someone that's flown before, I find this statement disturbing and very odd. Ten days is at best a
minimum for the kind of flying that we perform (or indeed - ANY flying). Naturally, if you're a casual, sick days are non existent, which is funny in a strange kind of way, given that most of the casuals I know work way more hours than the full time crew!
Flight attendant 'mentality' of getting sick? Gee - I don't know. Could have something to do with the fact you're locked in a metal tube, with recycled air for hours on end, with 170 of your closest friends who insist on flying sick themselves because they paid $1 for their airfare, and they're not giving it up!
I've taken about 15 days sick leave over the past 12 months, primarily because I cannot fly with blocked ears (no one should of course). If I worked on the ground, in an office, it would be a very different story. But given the vagaries of our odd work environment, we have higher sick leave for a very good reason. Congrats to you if you're able to avoid respiratory illnesses. Beware the time when you may need to take more than 10 days off, of course. Never say never in this game.
Re: sectors of flying (I nearly fell off my seat at the thought of 6, I must add)...
"No time to eat? Please... show me a flight attendant that does not get a chance to eat and i'll show you a skinny flight attendant.. It's a paid service .. which i have done before.. this is not a premium service.. so let's calculate this...... flight to Perth... 3.40 hours... If you can't squeeze in a half hour meal break.. you 1. can't organise crew.. or 2 don't have a clue what you are doing.... Also this is not going to be a syd return airline .. this is not city flyer.. can you please tell me what sectors we will be able to fit in ... for a 1,2,3,4,5,6 flight day! (by the way i put that in for you seemings you find it easier to count out the numerical detail! )"
It's not cityflyer...yet. For all the long sectors that exist now, short sectors will be around the corner in due time. I've done 2 hr flights with JQ and none of the crew have stopped - and that's with a paid service. Nothing to do with management, and everything to do with the nature of people in general. Daily duty hours limitations will be the key...and six sectors can be fitted in with remarkable ease, especially with our fave word 'delays'.
MEL-PER-MEL, followed by a BNE return maybe? What protections exist for crew to pick up additional sectors if something goes u/s? Curious, more than anything.
And, then of course, this golden statement:
"Hence the new laws that john howard has put in place."
Yes...what fantastic laws they are. With Tiger, and recently Jetstar International, putting their crew onto AWA's, their conditions of employment are LESS than those of sister carriers (ie. Jetstar Domestic). Less sick leave, lower salaries, less overtime, etc.
If you look at QF and MAM, we have casuals in this industry who clamber like refugees for the chance of full time employment. Sad, but very true.
Yeah - brave new world. So much for moving forward, when you have crew moving backward.
Good luck to those who take up the opportunity. You might just need it.