PPRuNe Forums - Air Nelson starts cancelling Flights

Flights cancelled as Air Nelson staff strike
NZPA | Thursday, 24 May 2007

Some Air Nelson flights have already been grounded as staff begin strike action today.

Staff are to picket outside the Air New Zealand-owned airline from midday.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) aviation industry organiser Strachan Crang said the strike was already biting.

"The company has grounded two of its 18 aircraft in a move we believe is an attempt to reduce servicing load and we're expecting they'll be trying to load aircraft using management. We believe these managerial decisions are likely to cause disruption to flights."

Mr Crang said as Air New Zealand was Air Nelson's parent company he expected it would have stepped in to sort the dispute out.

"But it looks like they'd rather have regional customers disadvantaged than make sure regional workers get a decent pay increase."

Members voted overwhelming against an offer from Air Nelson which the union said amounted to an average of 3.6 per cent a year for 30 months, when the going rate elsewhere was around 5 per cent.

The union was seeking a two-year deal of 5.8 per cent and 4.8 per cent, which includes catch up payments from previously low settlements, Mr Crang said.

Air Nelson said the two flights grounded this morning were not a result of industrial action but because of operational reasons.

However, 29 other flights have been cancelled over the next three days because of the strike, disrupting the travel plans of 350 customers, general manager John Hambleton said.

Customers who had been travelling on now-cancelled flights had been rebooked on the nearest alternative flight, the majority of which were within one to two hours of their original booking, he said.

Mr Hambleton said Air Nelson had contacted as many customers as possible prior to the industrial action to notify them of the changes.

Air Nelson would do everything possible to ensure they reached their destinations on time, he said.