What the Hell's going on at Virgin Blue?
 

Just caught up with a few good mates at VB and it seems both they and also the F/A's are not happy campers at the moment.
Apparently the other day a very senior manager that likes to whinge in public supposedly sacked a Captain for doing his job properly.

This skipper did the right thing and refused to board an aircraft that had both no Tech or cabin crew aboard just to make for a quick turn around.
This manager who had been cruising around the airport (not his usual haunt so they say) reamed the captain out and was told in no uncertain terms by the pilot that if he wanted to board the pax illegally he could fly the aircraft also.
This apparently resulted in the Captain being sacked (although reinstated after an embarassing apology).
This very high profile manager took exception at having the Captain remove his epaulettes and handing them to him.

This guy was once well liked and got along well with the troops - nowadays he is dispised, goes around making a nuisance of himself, being demanding, sacking pilots who don't agree with him etc. etc.

To make matters worse Virgin Blue is capping the capacity on 20 odd flights today due to Flight Attendant illness.
This means a max of 140 odd pax instead of about 180.
Thats a capacity shortfall of around 800 seats and a serious dent in any daily profit.

Now I hope this isnt true but when you hear it from both Cabin as well as Tech crew then there is obviously something amiss.
It surprises me that this hasnt made any mention as its a very serious issue and should be brought to bare.

We know Richard Branson boasts about his happy workforce but is this the pressure being pressed by its other owner?
Sounds like this guy needs to get the flick and make the company a better place to work.

I hear that that is how it's been in Engineering since day one.

Sure as hell if some management type were to illegally sack a pilot for doing his job I would expose this **** for what he is.
Very surprising and disappointing the VB guys/gals havent said anything especially if true.
This just isnt the sort of thing to be taken lying down or even to laugh at beacuse its bloody serious.
Sounds to me that Virgin have a serious moral problem thats got to be addressed.
This is a prime example why all the VB pilots should be part of a union.
Anyone know what percentage of the VB guys are union members?

I don't think this style of management is unique to VB sounds like this management person has been to the TJ school of airline management. Is this incident of boarding without crew related to another posting on the same subject? Good on the Captain for standing his ground!

The same manager also directed a captain to not wait for engineers who had been called to re-install life jackets that had fallen out and ended up at the rear of the cabin. He reckoned they could just stick them all (about 50 of them) in the rear galley (they were doing SYD-PER) to be handed out if they were needed.
He also got involved in a duty time problem in CBR - ops had decided to send the crew to a hotel due to an on-going tech problem so they could start their rest time to enable an early start the next day - bozo gets involved (he was paxxing) and demands that they stay at the airport to get going that night (the plane was never fixed until the morning).
And then there is the bearded one who ordered a captain, after offloading a drunk and abusive passenger, to take him back on the flight because "....I've spoken to him and he's promised to behave...."
Another captain was asked to explain why no service was given CBR-SYD; with embedded cb's forecast and already experienced SYD-CBR he told the crew to remain seated for the entire 25 minute flight - just so happened bozo was returning from his ski holiday and didn't like missing out on his cuppa.
And recently a captain was invited for tea and biccies to explain why he went fatigued after a back of the clock PER-BNE-MEL (he and the F/O refused the last sector due to inadequate rest achieved in PER).
These are just SOME that have made 'headlines' recently - yes, there IS a big problem at VB at the moment.:(

mmmm

Also heard from an F/A there, they are losing approx 50 FAs a month from resignations.
The word was, the rosters are too arduous and they were burning out, 15 O/nights/month.

Now I don't want to bag them 'cause having recently flown a distance with them, its a good product for what I paid.

Hopefully it is all just a transitional problem while they find equilibrium, otherwise they're in for a huge shock when they look at their training costs. Retention of staff plays a big factor.

kym???????????
:O
where are you at a time like this?

How come it's mainly scxxs...ooops...."post '89 Oz airline employed drivers", and their (few) supporters that have started, and continued this topic?

We need only VB_Capt and OICUR to add their tuppence worth, to almost complete the roll call! :rolleyes:

"...they're in for a huge shock when they look at their training costs."
Think you'll find they're a tax deductible item, Chocks - and NO shortage of applicants.
Not saying I agree, but from an employers' point of view, the ever-changing scenery remains keen - if only for a limited time before expiry - and there will NEVER be any accumulated leave problems!

Cruel, but I have worked with this concept ever since leaving Oz in 1990, so it's nothing new!

Tax deductable or not it still costs money.

They have to earn X amount to afford the deductability.

Wouldn't it be better to keep X than apply for the deduction?

halas

Why not start filing safety reports with the department?

I think this bloke would recieve the message from the company very loud and clear if they got involved.

:ok:

Wrong again Kraptin M,
Think you will find it is your mates, oh sorry your a SORE, you dont have any on either side :(

If only half of what Albert Ross says is true then I would think VB have some very serious problems to be dealt with and quickly.
This doesnt sound like a good or sound work environment especially with management goofs trying to chastise Captains over their power to exercise operational control.
This is exactly why unions are still a necessary evil and why pilots in this case should be members for their own protection.
I firmly believe that if all the VB pilots were members of the same union then this problem would never have reared its ugly head or has Chris Corrigan outlawed (sorry,strongly discouraged) union membership.

Any pilot worth an ounce wouldnt stand for any of the behaviour described on this and I applaud the pilots for standing up to management.
The question is how the hell did management ever think they could violate the Captains authority and deliberately violate CAO/Rs in the process?
Maybe the senior pilot managers should educate those so called managers that are obviously used to flouting their schoolboy prefect authority whilst attempting to break the law in the process.

Gentlemen, its happened again!!!!

If you all remember how the DJ crew (re prune posters) went very quiet when the EBA was going through,

All Virgin staff got a email from Brett yesterday that has caused a fair bit of depression in the ranks. i am not going to say what it was about due obvious reason.

I will say that anyone wanting a job at the moment might want to contact Rishworths in NZ.:mad:

Kap M, for your info, the captain involved in the boarding incident isn't a post '89 employed airline pilot, as you so elegantly phrased it ! I can't vouch for the other posters on this thread but I too can't acknowledge 'hero' status either; I'm just telling what I know.

From Flight Safety Australia (CASA publication).

"When enough's enough."
Pilots are sometimes pressured to break rules by shonky operators. ................. call the confidential CASA hotline
1800 074 737.

Safe flying, hoss:)

Virgin Blue growth Finished
 

tightcannon wrote

Just to verify the email sent yesterday to Virgin Blue staff.

In essense Virgin Blue's growth has come to an end, any future
capacity needed in Australia will be done by "Pacific Blue" as
well as all international operations, "Pacific Blue" will be a
N.Z. company employing Kiwis, Virgin Blue staff will have no
involvement in the new company.

IF this is all true - in essence, DJ staff are about to be DJ'd by their much cheaper New Zealand off shoot? :mad:

I guess this can only lead to further downward pressure on wages within the industry - so at the end of the day this affects all of us. I guess DJ staff can now begin to experience downward pressure on their wages too, now that they are no longer the industry low benchmark.

The irony will probably be lost on most - but at the end of the day we'll all no doubt be compared to the new Pacific Blue as the benchmark for wages & efficiency (no matter how unrealistic they might be). :*

I'll be interested to see what the unions make of all of this, having been so quick to sign off on the DJ agreements when they burst onto the scene...

they screwed AN and now it's DJ's turn............:mad:k1w1s

A bit of a shock, it will be interesting to see how Geoff Dixon
reacts, will he now make his LCC Skimpy to be run by JetConnect? Christ it could be a Kiwi invasion !!.

Wirraway

Was having a rather drunk conversation with a Kiwi the other night whilst standing in a queue outside some dodgy pick-up joint. Being a bit full of the amber liquid and feeling a bit feisty, i asked him why the f*ck there are so many Kiwis in Australia?

The answer "wages bro, wages".

The weak NZ economy has a lot to answer for. The sooner they become the 9th state/territory the better so we won't have this nonsense going on.

You can have the World Cup, just don't take our jobs!

TL