B757's will have 174 seats and 4 crew of course the unions would like 5, it would probably be to much hard work for the 4 crew!
Exactly. It is to much work for 4 crew
Does that mean the dispute is over, or does that mean they've gone the other way?
Anyone able to actually fill in what's going on?
At the minute there's 8 cabin crew on 1 aircraft, come March, there'll be 4 crew on two aircraft, so still 8. Exactly where is the union seeing the issue here? Also, if there's only 176 seats on the 757, and there's usually 174 seats on an A320 and they do fine with 4 crew on the A320, why do they think they need another member of cabin crew for the 757?
EI's 320s operate with 4 crew and 174 seats, BUT, they operate an all economy buy onboard service, on sectors up to 4.5 hours. A T/A operation with a full service Business and Economy service cannot be done with 4 crew. All major operators across the atlantic (UA, US, DL and AA) operate with 6 crew; UA operate domestic services with 4 crew, but only offer a bar service, and meals/bar in Business.
EI unions took a realistic approach and were looking for 5, and EI have refused to sit down and talk.
EI are looking for service delivery similar to Etihad, but want the absolute minimum crew, which doesn't add up. Having flown United across the Atlantic on a 757, they offer a very good service... I doubt it would be as good if they had 50% less crew!