Sepla has accused Easyjet of offering less safety in their flights that....

[peb]

The Pilots' Spanish Union of Air Lines (Sepla) has accused Easyjet of offering less safety in their flights that the majority of the principal Spanish airlines, for what it located to the airline of low cost to which it demonstrates " with information " the qualit levels of their aircraft.

The Sepla answers this way to the advertisement of the English airline of tackling legal actions against the assistant director of Air Europa, Gerardo Ariño, who talking recently to the minor safety that Easyjet offers.

The pilots defend that Air Europa is the national company that more safety offers in his flights, since none takes off with breakdowns dependent on arrangement. In addition it affirms that it is pioneering on having implanted an agreed by consensus and clear politics of pilots' contracting, as well as of a qualit formation distributing them. The Sepla claims the authorities of Civil Aviation that monitor and make fulfill the safety standards of the airlines.

Easyjet also announced recently that they will adopt " legal actions against the natural and / or juridical persons " that they have accused her of practising professionally without qualifications and of operating on without permission, which itthey qualified as a " campaign of defamation that commits an outrage against his image and prestige ". The company rejects the declarations of the speaker of the Managerial Association of Travel agencies of the Costa del Sol, Pedro Garc'a, and of holders of companies of mediation of trips as Rafael Polo. Both accused Easyjet of not possessing the permissions to operate as airline and of practising professionally without qualifications, on having assured that it develops the activity of travel agency without having license.



Im sorry about the grammar. :\

[Smell the Coffee]

I'm only Cabin Crew, but I am lead to believe that the standard of training and professionalism at easyJet is second to none - we couldn't afford otherwise. Same goes for cabin crew training.

Wonder what motivated the accusations?

[Airbrake]

As Easyjet expands into Europe it is starting to step on some toes. There will be more mud slinging to come, similar to the early days of Virgin v BA.
The training at Easy is good. It is the one thing in the company that is not low cost, as one safety/cost related event could well bring the company to its knees, just like any other Low Cost operator.

[maxy101]

Airbrake I think you have hit the nail on the head. The low costers could destroy a few of the state/former state carriers that operate in the rest of Europe. I think the SEPLA (Iberia) pilots are being very short sighted as the low costers will bring more jobs to Spain. God only knows how difficult it is to break into aviation here. (unless your father works for Iberia)

[Send Clowns]

Safety culture comes from the top, and is enforced down. Much as we would like our operators to apply safe practice for their (and our) own sake the truth is that much comes fom the regulator. In any free market economy this is almost inevitable. I have taught several Italians, over in the UK for training because of the high qualities and good reputation we have here, despite the high costs compared with other European nations. That, I believe, comes in the end from the UK CAA. The opinion of these few individuals and the recent accusations in this forum of appalling safety breaches on an airline operating under the Italian regulator are all I have to go on, but this leads me to doubt their commitment to safety.

[omoko joe]

maybe the spanish should concentrate looking a bit closer to home when it comes to safety. I've seen plenty of 'interesting' arrivals downroute bearing EC registrations:uhoh:

[Few Cloudy]

When I went through their training system, I found it very thorough - comparing to past experience in the RAF, Swissair and a Japanese operator - and they were Very serious.

The aircraft were well maintained and the cabin crew were very safety concious - to the extent of stopping people talking and make sure they heard the safety briefings.

The pilots I flew with were the same bunch you could expect to find in any good operation.

You could argue about some procedures - but it was and is still quite a young company and growing very fast.

I remember Stelios once saying that he couldn't survive if an accident were to happen - apart from the human aspect. I can't believe that things have changed a lot - looks like a typical smear campaign to me.

People in glass houses and all that...

[PAXboy]

Wonder what motivated the accusations? I think the answer is the opening paragraph of the thread, which I have shortened: SEPLA ... Easyjet ... less safety ... the majority of principal Spanish airlines Someone has just woken up to the fact that passengers are starting to use non-Spanish carriers if the price is lower, or any of the other usual reasons for that matter. Since RYR started ops in 1985 and EZY in 1995, they have had a reasonable chance to observe. Far be it from me to suggest that someone was being complacent for the past 17 odd years. :p
--------------------
"I tell you, we are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you any different." Kurt Vonnegut, Jr

[Boss Raptor]

Break into Spain?!

Dream on I met all the heads and powers including from Min. of Transport and CAA..excluding Iberia ...all at together one night...they are not going to shift easily...Spanish aviation is a close world and equally as closely protected and do they care about EU?!...no they dont give a sh!t :E

[fmgc]

but I am lead to believe that the standard of training and professionalism at easyJet is second to none

Second to none, steady on, it may be good but second to none is going a bit far.

[Smell the Coffee]

Regarding the comment above, I meant to imply "very good", rather than literally "second to none". I'm not in a position to comment on other airlines!

regards

[maxy101]

Boss Raptor Things happen slowly here in sunny Spain, but they do eventually change. Slowly but surely, they are getting dragged into the 21st century by the EU. With the weight of various European Courts behind them, I think new airlines will do well here against the incumbants.

[IB4138]

This hasn't anything to do with the rumour that easyJet are thinking of making Malaga a base has it?
Air Europa would be worried, as it would not take much to improve and compete on their offerings from AGP.

[LordLucan]

I think Omoko Joe has hit the nail on the head, before anyone in Spanish aviation criticises a UK operator for its safety practices they need to get their own house in order first.

Its the wild west at times going into some of those Spanish Airports, how many times have you had a local operator squeezed in ahead of you, all instructions given in Spanish and no adherance to the procedure which everyone else is doing !

As for the EZY training; well the excessive dependancy on third party suppliers is questionable, but the product is very good, they do keep up a good standard..... Good luck to them !

:ok:

[EGGW]

Absolutely, i once had 2 LATCC guys on the jumpseat (The good ole days) inbound to AGP, a bloody Iberia overtook us VMC, and squeezed infront of us, we were "vectored" around the skies. The LATCC guys were astounded. I phoned the ATC guy once on the ground, he told me i didn't have the "big" picture. When i informed him i had the whole picture, ie. active TCAS, he went rather quiet......

This was 2 years ago, now i am learning Spanish, beware AGP ATC a lot of us Brit pilots are learning Spanish.....

Also the number of gash approaches one sees at Spanish airports is still amazing to this day, by most of the Spanish airlines. Do they have QAR's yet???

BTW, i love Spain & the Spanish people before anyone accuses me.

EGGW.

[trainer too 2]

Let me see who is accusing who...

SEPLA a union that is very anti foreign pilots sees a very succesful european LCC getting into their market. Secondly a chairman of an association of travel agents... These are people living in the past and noticing that they are losing the battle.... :yuk:

[peb]

The airline of low cost Britisher EasyJet has given for the polemic tackled with the general assistant director of Air Europa, Gerardo Ariño, after having received on the part of this one the explanations that he requested him, they indicated to Europa Press sources of the company, which emphasized his desire to support good relations with the whole sector of the air transport.

EasyJet's juridical office put in touch with Ariño to ask for explanations him on the declarations that it realized last March 25, in that, according to his version, he would have assured that the companies of low cost " cheapen the price of his tickets at the cost of a lack of investment in safety measures in his flights " and for that he was studying the possibility of suing in his against.

The executive of Air Europa assured them that hiswords were misinterpreted by the press, since, according to the statement that the own Ariño did to Europa Press, not refirió to the airlines of low cost but to those of the countries of the near extension of the EU that do not expire with the safety standards established by the community authorities in the matter.

Ariño underlined that his intention was in any case "to "alert" the authorities of the civil Spanish aviation on the need to demand to the companies of the new community associates of the East Europe the same requirements as for safety that applies to itself those that already are under the normative "umbrella" of the European Union, " because us it is clear that some of them do not do it ".

EasyJet was trying with the measured legal temporary employees, that now they have remained rejected, " to do a warning to the rest of entities or organizations that in the latter dates have realized declarations rushing forth at the safety lack on the part of the airlines of low cost ", so that " if they have something that to denounce they do with name and surnames ", since the generalizations " affect EasyJet as member of this group, when this company fulfills rigorously the safety procedure ".

In this sense, the pilots' union SEPLA indicated today to Europa Press that the best way of silencing the critiques on the safety in the airlines of low cost is that these " put on the table " the measures that they adopt as for safety, underlining that this type of affirmations do not suppose a "scorn" to this type of companies.

Ariño underlined that his intention was in any case "to "alert" the authorities of the civil Spanish aviation on the need to demand to the companies of the new community associates of the East Europe the same requirements as for safety that applies to itself those that already are under the normative "umbrella" of the European Union, " because us it is clear that some of them do not do it ".

Sources of the union organization underlined that all the airlines that operate nowadays in the air European space " are sure ", since they operate chord to the procedure established by the community authorities, but that the great difference between the majority of the traditional airlines and the majority of those of low cost is the " quality in the operations ". " The air transport is sure, but there are categories ", they demonstrated.

This way, they aimed, for example, that ' low cost ' accumulate the not structural breakdowns the device to approach them once it has finished his day, whereas the majority of the traditional ones face them in the following rest of the device after it has been located, without hoping that it ends the day. In any case, they indicated that, as it has happened with questions as the food on board, the current trend is that the traditional airlines operate every time of form more similar to those of low cost.

Finally, the SEPLA considered to be fundamental that should find out the passengers of this type of questions in order that they could choose the product to using with full knowledge of the presentations that offers, since nowadays the users guide for the most part by the tariffs that offer the companies.

[Smell the Coffee]

his words were misinterpreted by the press

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[FlapsOne]

Well, that says it all really!!!

[calypso]

Breaking into the spanish market is not going to be as easy as some people think. The main reason is that there are very few airports in Spain (mainly because Spain did not take part in WWII so there wasn't a proliferation of military airfields as in the rest of Europe). As a result the airfields that exist are either quite busy and most of the slots are taken or serve small sleepy towns vey far from anywhere. Overcrowded international airfields are not specially low cost either. To compare with the UK is Heathrow or nothing, there isn't a Luton.

Just a thought...

[Algy]

Interesting organisation, SEPLA. This copyrighted story from ATI a little while back...


Iberia pilots' leaders anger own members
Rainer Uphoff, Madrid (23Sep02, 12:52 GMT, 530 words)


Pilots union leaders at Spanish flag-carrier Iberia are under fire from some of their own members after making safety allegations against the company as part of a campaign to unseat chairman Xavier de Irala and president Angel Mullor.

The damaging claims, which were widely aired in the Spanish media, were behind last week’s decision by the airline to replace large numbers of cargo-hold lining panels on its Airbus narrowbodies, meaning some could not carry any hold baggage in the interim.

Other accusations by the SEPLA union are that the airline has not complied with baggage reconciliation rules, has cut back on maintenance, and has suffered a higher than normal number of engine failures on its Boeing 747s during the summer – claims that the airline flatly denies.

ATI has seen clear evidence of a group of pilots urging the union to conduct a campaign to bring down De Irala and Mullor by “consuming” them with claims of unsafe practices - regardless of whether they are justified.

Messages on the Iberia pilots’ Internet chatline show members openly calling for the downfall of De Irala and Mullor and making it clear that spurious safety allegations should be used if necessary, so long as they damage “the duo”.

A SEPLA spokeswoman did not deny that the messages existed but threatened possible “legal action” against any pilot found to reveal their contents to the media.

The allegations about the hold-liners related to longstanding repairs that may have lacked formal Airbus approval but which have never previously been considered unsafe.

The campaign appears to be driven by hardline pilots still furious with De Irala and Mullor for standing up to them in bitter labour negotiations last year which drastically curtailed SEPLA’s notoriously powerful role at the airline. The final settlement means SEPLA cannot strike before July 2005.

One pilot opposed to SEPLA’s actions calls the campaign “suicide”, saying: “I am not alone among my colleagues in believing that this is the worst way to defend our rights. Our current union leaders have the problem that they need to justify their role and build up their identity as Sepla cannot go on strike. Instead, they are constructing false or ambiguous cases over what can most harm Iberia's public image: its safety and maintenance practices.

“I think our union leaders have lost their common sense, particularly in the current worldwide crisis."

The pilot continues: “No pilot would fly an aircraft if there were the slightest suspicion of maintenance problems or lax safety procedures.

“We know that Iberia has world class maintenance and safety procedures and that the Spanish CAA is very strict and unforgiving, but the flying public does not have this insider knowledge.”

An Iberia spokesman says: “We would never put at risk the lives of our passengers and crew, nor our reputation nor our air operators’ certificate.”

She points out that the size of Iberia’s maintenance operation has naturally declined as it has reduced the number of types in the fleet. “Obviously maintaining a 30 year-old Boeing 727 is much more costly than a brand new Airbus A320. It is obvious that this reduction is maintenance costs is not at all at the cost of safety.”


Source: Air Transport Intelligence news