jQ A330 on ground OOL

[teresa green]

One of mine is rostered on NRT, and I had to stop Mrs. Green ringing the company and giving them a earful, (I tell ya, you don't need the AIPA, my missus makes em look like Alice in wonderland) her "boys" (this constitutes every pilot she has ever met,) is in danger as far as she is concerned, and I imagine most of your families would feel rather uneasy also. A unusual situation.

[breakfastburrito]

The Pentagon was expected to announce that the aircraft carrier Ronald Reagan, which is sailing in the Pacific, passed through a radioactive cloud from stricken nuclear reactors in Japan, causing crew members on deck to receive a month’s worth of radiation in about an hour, government officials said Sunday..

NYTimes

[X_class]

To put the radiation dose in perspective: That is less exposure than the passengers/crew would get from a return flight Sydney to London.

[zlin77]

Having been in NRT on Friday afternoon and zooming down 10 flights of stairs to exit our hotel, I can appreciate that some people may not be too keen to visit at the moment.......disregarding radiation issues and continuing aftershocks, it possibly won't be the easiest layover for a while, tap water no longer suitable for drinking, panic buying cleaning out supplies of essentials from shops, intermittent power disruptions with rolling blackouts, some rail services not operating, some intermittent. One of my friends in NRT has had her house declared unfit and is in a community centre on a temporary basis, another has had no running water since the quake, although NRT was not badly hit, it is affected!!

[positivegee]

I was in NRT on Sat. night. @ ~ 10pm the terminal was shaking a bit and the locals were running for cover (all the signs above the check-in counters were shaking back and forth).

At about 3am I awoke to a tremmor that I thought was pretty bad that lasted about 10 seconds, about half an hour later, another tremmor hit (I was on the sixth floor) and I timed this one at about 20 seconds.

I remember hearing that the longer a tremmor lasts, the more chance of buildings collapsing!

I couldn't sleep after that one, wondering what to do if the walls started crumbling around me; things went through my mind like "should I get dressed ready to evacuate", "do I need to review the escape exits?", "If I write a will now, will it be valid if it does get found?". Pretty scary stuff really.

At about 1030am, another big tremmor hit (6.2 apparently) and that really shook the joint. I was very glad to get out of there and wondered if any crew would be willing to fly back there with all of the safety concerns.

The earthquake threat is bad enough to stop me going back, but add the threat of deadly radiation exposure...that just tops the cake!

[golow]

Over 26 flights were cancelled due to lack of staff the last time I looked yesterday. Out of Coolangatta the Auckland and 1 Sydney flights was cancelled as well as Tokyo.
Running an airline with no pilots and cabin crew.
No one wants to go an extra inch for this mob now.

[Keg]

Yet the QF flights have all departed. Admittedly, I don't know if there were crewing issues for those flights.

[40Deg STH]

Well I just hope that the Japanese tourist market remember what Jetstar and their crew did for them in their hour of need.
Just to give you an idea, the Jetstar crew hotel is operating normally and food service is normal, only the snack shop is closed.
Cathay operating normally to ALL Japanese ports and putting together a team to go help with rescue operations.Qantas also operating to NRT.
I was there the day before for a 7.2 and the Japanese remained calm, shame a group of Australian crew couldn't.
Note to self,, "Never give my seat up to a Jetstar FA on the bus to NRT station"


I guess, you pay peanuts......etc

[neville_nobody]

Jetstar is a Business. It is about making money. It is not the ADF, the Red Cross or Médecins Sans Frontières. Crew should not be expected to take undue risk just to help with Jetstar's PR. I think Jetstar pilot summed it up pretty well.

More to the point say all the pilots went above and beyond the call of duty and helped out in a major way and Jetstar received amazing publicity. Where would all that good will be come EBA time?

Jetstar has to learn that they reap what they sow. If they go all out to screw their employees to the letter of the law don't expect much in the way of intrinsic motivation when you need it most.

If Jetstar was Southwest however, I think you will find that people will be more than willing to help out. That is the difference.

Of all these Cathay crews that are operating into Japan how many are actually overnighting?

[40Deg STH]

neville, lets avoid thread drift, but Jetstar crews did except well below industry norm.
And yes, There are overnights

I guess they are payed less than the ADF

[teresa green]

A little harsh 40deg. Its gone from bad to worse up there, and most aircrew know that the airline they work for don't give a Ratz what happens to them, and especially what happens to them in the future. Imagine trying to extract some compensation from them if you get a dose of radiation (the worst possible scenario) but then again anything is possible up there right now. And to put it bluntly many crew are in the child bearing age, and it does not bear thinking about if it caused a child that was not quite right, again the worst scenario, but this sort of thinking is at the back of their minds, and who could blame them.

[40Deg STH]

Fair enough tereasa, was not me who made the excuses of EBA or payscale.
I feel pay and conditions should never a part of the reasoning.
Imagaine QLD floods.........Cant help, I'm afraid I'll drown
VIC fires..........Can't help, I'll get burned.

Australians always pull together to help who ever is in need, or I thought. Maybe I have been away for too long.
My mates wife is in Tokyo 8 months pregnant and young son, imagine if we didn't fly there and they could not leave!!
I for one am going

[Gate_15L]

To put the radiation dose in perspective: That is less exposure than the passengers/crew would get from a return flight Sydney to London.

Tell you what X-Class,

you go overnight into NRT and operate. Tell us all how the Iodine 131 and Caesium 137 tastes.....

There is NO safe maximum level of exposure for man made ionising radiation.. it might also be a small dose, but for how long? Iodine 131 has a half life of around 8 days, Caesium 137, about 30 years....

The J* crew have every right to refuse to overnight into NRT.
The situation at Fukushima cannot be underestimated. There are FOUR nuclear reactors there, 2 with severe cooling problems and power problems supplying the cooling system pumps.

Having read that they are having serious trouble trying the keep the core submerged in water and that some of the fuel is exposed to the air, would give me more than passing warm fuzzies of concern.

Tokyo is 200 km away to the south and there are reports that the wind is expected to change direction to a Northerly, blowing any radionuclides towards Tokyo. The French Embassy has also recommended that their nationals leave the northern Tokyo area as the situation at Fukushima is highly unpredictable.


But it's alright, because according to J* management, it's completely safe.

(Things to think about if your overnighting in NRT and the fallout heads your way...

Avoid Fresh milk. Any milk produced around the fall out area may contain Iodine 131. Actually make that any dairy...

Consider taking Iodine tablets, talk to a GP first. By taking normal iodine tablets, this protects your thyroid from taking up the radioactive Iodine 131 isotope, which decays giving a beta particle, hence giving off beta radiation.

Take off your outer layer of clothing before entering buildings and leave at the front door if in a fall out area. Cover your mouth and nose while outside with anything that will lower the amount of dust you breath in

Canned goods are probably the best and safest to eat, as is any bottled water.
)

Good Luck!

edited to add.. any dairy... be safe kiddies!

[The Kelpie]

Ask Bruce and his family to accompany you. J* managment will soon do a u turn


oops I forgot. he has an appointment with a certain committee of Senators on Friday!!

[Ken Borough]

oops I forgot. he has an appointment with a certain committee of Senators on Friday!!

So! It's only Tuesday afternoon so BB could do at least two return trips Australiua/Japan before he's due in Canberra. Perhaps he should visit his troops up there to show some support and solidarity?

[Mstr Caution]

But it's alright, because according to J* management, it's completely safe.

May I suggest J* use excuse number 27.

"The cancellation of some of our services has been an industrial issue & not a safety issue"

Ken, I don't think BB is available.
Excuse number 49
"I have to attend my sisters baby shower"

[33 Disengage]

I guess this is why I saw 3 ads on TV last night for Jet*. When it's all turning to sh!te the only thing management know to do is spend money, try and prop up the brand.

[Oxidant]

Ken, I don't think BB is available.

Still waiting for BB (In Christchurch) after he postponed his visit after the Sept. quake. “Didn’t want to put unnecessary people into the area.........."

(But, more than happy to put four plane loads a day, into the airport!)

[Hugh Jarse]

Gate 15L,

Don't forget Strontium 90, which affects the bones and bone marrow. This is a further element resulting from fission.

My father and his mates were in Hiroshima with BCOF shortly after the bomb was dropped. Years later he succumbed to Myelodysplasia, a type of leukaemia associated with radiation exposure (or benzene).

He attempted to prove to Vets Affairs that his time in Japan (and Strontium 90) was the cause, but they attributed it (of course) to benzene. He was involved in transport. Benzene is (was) found in petrol.

The trucks he drove and worked on were diesel.

Personally, I would not be allowing myself anywhere near the stuff, for any amount of money.

The problem with allowing yourself to be put in harm's way is that problems may not manifest themselves for many years. Then you have to prove the cause!

[Capt Kremin]

I doubt QF will be slipping in NRT in the near future.