Originally Posted by
PPSept15
Once comment on the Almaty incident. I understand what the captain did, and I would probably have done the same. But from a public perspective viewpoint, grounding the plane in Almaty for 10 hours for rest, would be just what we needed to bring the problems here to the public attention.
300 passengers tweeting, and being interviewed by the media, about how they were stuck on a plane for 25 hours with a dead baby, would have put into stark focus the pitfalls of the 3 man issue.
The ever present problem is separation of industrial action from professional action. Some of us believe the two are separate.
We comply with the letter and intent of contract compliance: withdrawal of good will, contactable only when required and the training ban. But once at work, their job is to take the plane and it's passengers from point A to B in the safest and most efficient manner. That will sometimes requires commander's discretion.
There are legitimate reasons not to use commander's discretion after an en route diversion. Each situation is unique.
Stranding the passengers at an airport hotel for "crew rest" is unavoidable. It will be industrially effective. It will highlight the limitations resulting when long haul flights have 3 rather than 4 crew. We gain negotiating power. It will cost the company financially, generate negative publicity and damage the airline's reputation.
But choosing to strand passengers for industrial reasons can not be construed as professional.