Keeponsmiling I think you hit the nail on the head with this one- we need to take this all back to safety. Wouldn't it be great if we could do all our hours in 10 days (ie 10 x 14 hour shifts) and then get the rest of the month off. BUT.... how safe would that be. OK so slight exaggeration but can you see my point. I can’t understand how working ourselves to the brink of collapse is a good thing. Doesn’t that just contradict the purpose of our job! To be effective crew we need to be alert. :zzz: :E

Hey Guys,
Does anyone know when virgin blue are hiring next in brisbane.
Thanks!

Hi All!
I am about to move to Brisbane soon to start training VERY excited of course, however, was wondering if anyone could fill me in on what to expect of both life in Brisbane and of training! Any tips would be really fantastic! Thanks all, and hope everyone is having a fabulous day :)

wirgin blew...Still waiting for your response to VB's on seatbelt signs?

What is VB stand on the crew working during the seat belt sign?

Lowerlobe - VB's stand is "safety first" which basically leaves it up to the Captain, Supervisor and Crew to decide when it is unsafe to continue service. I have never felt the need to stop the service but that is just me. I have however not started the service on numerous occasions due to turbulence. The longest was about 90mins after takeoff from CNS which was a great way to start the day ;-).
EBA discussions continue as far as I am aware and Jun 07 was a date mentioned by a FAAA rep for those who were asking.
As for the GalleyFM we will see if these people are correct or not in a matter of due course. It is however hard to stay out of the discussions as this is what a lot of people are talking about at the moment which can only be a good thing. The more people talk about it the more people will read the document when it comes out.

:-)

Just an observation..... many of you are talking about "when the new EBA comes out" and "what will be in it" and that there's a lot of rumour and gossip.

I would have thought you should have a team of FAAA delegates negotiating with DJ management and keeping all members informed of the progress with regular communication. Then when it gets to it's final draft stage and your FAAA members make a preliminary vote on the new EBA, you are all well aware of what you is contained in the new document.

That's the way EBA negotiations usually happen. Just an observation.

Flitegirl I am not sure if FAAA memebrs are recieving any communications from the union regarding the progress of different things to be included/excluded from the EBA, however non-members are getting nothing from anyone - the silence is deafening - so without fact, rumourmills will start... The last roadshows were back in July I think? Since then, we have not really seen or heard much about whats going on.

I have been through a number of EBA negotiations and as an outsider looking in, can I suggest you put pressure on the FAAA domestic division to keep you regularly updated. Do you have union reps and delegates among your flight attendant ranks? Put the pressure on them to keep you informed, and represent you collectively so that you have more power at the negotiation table. That's why you pay your fees. Please don't sit back and wait for them to present you with a draft that you haven't had any input into its content. Perhaps the FAAA domestic division need a little bit of proverbial wind up them, and perhaps your flight attendant reps aren't doing their jobs properly. With a company your size, I imagine you have fomally elected union officials in BNE and MEL... what have their roles been? Phone them, email them, whatever... but put the pressure on them to keep you informed.

Flitegirl our negotiations have been going on for nearly 18 months from what I understand. At this point in time I am not an FAAA Member - I was, and I resigned my membership (for various reasons that I don't need to go into here - none of them have anything to do with the cost of the membership) so as I mentioned above I am unaware of what members are recieving from the company - but yes our elected delegates have worked incredibly hard with the crumbs they have been given to work with. The delegates even took a trip to Westjet in Canada to have a look first hand at Cronos, the new bidding/roster optimiser systham that we will be moving on to.

I understand what you're saying. However as an observer, it concerns me that so many people are making comments like "when the EBA comes out make sure you read it so you know what you're voting on". If the FAAA dometic division is representing you guys properly, you should all be well informed regarding the negotiations before you get to the voting stage. The draft EBA should be a confirmation of what you all already know. There should be no 'surprises'. At the moment it sounds like it's just a big mystery to a lot of you. I'm not at all being critical, just trying to help. It seems like you guys need to put pressure on the right people to get some information flowing. However it may be different for FAAA members.

I'm an FAAA member and I get eba newsletters - probably one a week. They either update us on where things are at - or they have MYTH Busters attached about galleyFM.

Thanks adam.... that answers the question then. I guess those who aren't "in the loop" are non members. SO.... you should all sign up! It's so important to be represented in the current aviation environment.

Agreed - however I had very valid reasons for resigning my membership from the FAAA, and make no apology for that... That said though I am considering rejoining, depending on the agreement that gets presented to us for consideration.

Embraer Jets
 

Hi guys,

Will current cabin crew be trained on the Embraer jets or are they going to recruit crew to operate only that jet?

RaverFlaver :O

Raver I seem to recall an email that said we would be crosstrained on the EMB's

That said though, who knows what will happen now with the No vote on the pilots EBA?

Embraer
 

Is anyone aware if and when Virgin Blue will operate the Embraers to Emerald in Queensland?

Will Virgin Blue base check in staff at the airport in Emerald as well?

Virgin Blue Employed Ground Staff are only in the 4 major Ports of BNE, SYD, MEL and ADL.

All other Ports are staffed by contract staff - such as Aerocare and Oceanic Aviation.

There is also a limited number of Casual staff in the major ports that are employed through Westaff.

If Virgin Blue were to fly to Emerald - the Ground Staff would be employed by a Ground Handling Company.

do you know if they hire for ground crew very often? and what bases?

Check Virgin Blue website for when they are hiring

:}

thanks guys,

lets hope VB will fly to regional places in Embraers, and does anyone know if the height requirements will change for the Embraer aircraft?

SkyNews nothing has been announced or confirmed, so anything on here is pretty much pure speculation - we have been told we will be crewing the Embraers, but even that may change. So, to answer your question, I would imagine that no the height requirements would not change as crew will be trained on both 737 and EMB, so would need to meet the height/reach requirements for the B737

In light of the changed working conditions effective 1 Feb due to the reduced crew compliment, what better working conditions/penalties does the FAAA intend to negotiate on behalf of cabin crew that are over and above the current EBA negotiations, as reduced crew compliment would not have been part of initial discussions. I urge those who are members of the FAAA to email the FAAA or the associated reps to put this point forward. :)

collapse of negotiations.....
 

I have heard from reliable sources that as of yesterday, negotiations between the FAAA and management have collapsed and management are NOT happy.......VERY interesting to see where things go from here.......


Flitegirl - Yes, the FAAA are negotiating on our behalf, however we just haven't received much information on the latest info for a while. Perhaps we need to hassle our reps (yes, we do have them - both in BNE and MEL!) a little more.......

I "TRIED" to speak to the FAAA to get info! Was quite curtly told that it wouldn't be appropriate to release content of intentions. But that they were definitely pushing our side of things...I am not impressed with the level of communication from FAAA at all. I and the membership are supposed to be driving the push with the FAAA doing the face to face negotiations. Appears to be going the same way that the Ground Crew EBA did last year! Ground crew were just suddenly told well we've done our best to get you the best deal we can and here it is, we suggest you support it... and that from my then, union!
I just wish things were more "open". Even if I don't like the content, if it is open and transparent to me I will at least feel that I can trust both the union and company management. It would certainly help to squash so much of the galley FM rumour mill.

Agreed Milbud - more communications would go a long way!!!

Heard on the crewbus the other day that the company wanted us to do our training on days off :hmm: However FAAA said no, so company turned around and said "ok we will reduce it from 10 days off per 28 to 9 days off per 28"

GalleyFM or not well who knows?

Clear, open, detailed communications from company and/or union would be great. Why should we not be privvy to knowing what is being presented and what is being rejected/agreed???

Do cabin crew that work for Virgin Blue get breaks during the flight, if yes for how long?

Like I said before - I am getting info from the FAAA on a regular basis - infact one on Fri. I feel very much in the 'loop' as I call the BNE office often - the lady that works there is very helpful about EBA issues. I know that for awhile I wasn't getting anything until I gave them my home email - the company blocks emails from the FAAA so you can't get them at work and the comapny also banned newseltters from our drop files - so short of calling, my hotmail account is how I get info.

aa

Yes we supposedly are entitled to a 20 min break free from duty. Which in my mind means sitting on the tarmac/break room somewhere with no guests in sight. What management mean is 20 min on a long flight sitting in the back galley while other crew restock carts, clean & check toilets, guests use toilets, face painting, etc. Which is total bs if you ask me. These managers make sure they have a meal break during the day without answering the phone or going to get a latte.

Please encourage your CS to put in sup payment forms. I know its not much but it is eventually going to get through to someone in HQ when they do the maths at the end of the year. This whole us and them thing is going to get much worse over the course of this year. BG can wave goodbye to VB's "culture" the way things are going at his airline. First you pi$$ off the guys who fly, then you do it to the staff who have the most face to face contact of the company. If Tiger gets there stuff off the ground you are going to have a few people submitting their resumes.

Hope your all having a great weekend.

re your discussions on lack of info from the company and faaa during eba negotiations. we had the same crticisms with ours last year (voted down by the way and are due to try again) but it was explained to us at the meetings that negotiating can be a lot like playing a game of cards and to release the details of negotiations as they happen is a bit like showing your hand at the card table. perhaps not the best analogy but i got the picture.

once it was all finished we were given the eba to read and then we had meetings to have the details explained and newsletters to clarify what was being offered.

i'm sure getting the info as it happened wouldn't have made the slightest bit of difference, you've got to read the eba, ask questions and then make up your own mind. although i must admit it was frustrating not knowing what was going on.

Wirgin Blew thank you kindly for your answer.

Finally the EBA has been completed, earlier today confirmation was received and the details and information will be provided to the cabin crew and associated people over the next little bit. As for what is in it, it has not be published, so it would be a great idea to read the proposed EBA first in full and to catch up with the forums that will be offered to explain the document fully.

May I stress you read the information and question the details provided so you can make an inform descision, away from those who care to use
'I heard' than factual documented information.

Toodles........

Thanks Kitty - finally! I can't wait to read it! I hope they provide lots of different times for forums so we can fit them in around our rosters.

aa xoxo

An email has been sent out to confirm to crew the EBA is completed. Info is to be sent over the next two weeks, paper copy, dvd explanation, roadshows details will be posted directly to your residence.

:)

I'm flying Virgin Blue in two weeks
 

This thread has been really interesting as im I'm flying Virgin Blue in two weeks. 10am flight from SYD > Cairns thurs 1st march and miday return on 5th. I'm from Britain... i'l be looking forward to it.

Is it a good service the route does anyone know?

Is there any tv on board? I wanted to use my mp3 player but i don't think you can you.

FOXPRESIDENT - you can listen to mp3 after the seat belt sign is switched off. As for TV if you are lucky you might get one of the few (3) aircraft that has live to air tv onboard ($6).

Hope you have a good time in CNS. I would recommend the Woolshed or Gilligans for a bit of night time action.

hey thanks for this its appreciated!

I hope we get live tv that would be brilliant.

Is any crew flying on my aircraft - Its a 10am dep from Sydney and 12 noon departure from Cairns.

I'm quite interested in know about these little jokes - they should be good!

We now have 7 Live2Air aircraft, with 1 being fitted out each week :ok:

Does anyone know about increasing the capacity on the 800 to 189seats? According to the press release today on VB's website new 800's to be delivered will have the flexibility to increase seating by 5 % to 189 seats. What will that make the seat pitch 28/29"?. I cant see those business pax who fly and pay $200/$300 o/w for a flexible fare being impressed by even less leg room. If Jetblue (a highly successfull airline and a low cost carrier at that in USA), can make money, providing low fares and has a seat pitch of 36" (only 150 seats on the A320), Virgin should take a leaf out of its book. The journey isn't only about good service, but comfort and having flown on Ryanair with 189 seats there is nothing comfortable about sitting inside their tin cans!!!

1:36 slowly going out the window?
 

I also read that press release and found the 189 seats on an -800 very interesting indeed from a Cabin Crew perspective.

Given that DJ are now able to operate the -800 with only 4 crew an extra 9 or 12 pax raises some important questions.

Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but CASA granted DJ the reduced crew exemption not on the basis of a 1:50 ratio (otherwise they could have gone 3 crew on the -700), but on the basis that on the -800 all 4 primary exits were still covered by crew and overwing passengers received a more detailed pre-departure briefing.

Does this exemption still hold when the aircraft has 189 pax? If you were to operate with only 4 crew on a 189 seat -800 you would effectively be TWO crew members down as under normal CASA regulations of the 1:36 ratio 6 crew would be required to operate with 189 pax. := Where does one draw the line in the sand?

Very clever work on DJ's behalf perhaps? Get a special approval to operate with less crew and then subsequently increase the seating config. Is this possible!?!? :confused: :confused: :confused:

Has anyone heard the rumour going round that 120 CC have resigned since Christmas? I have noticed less people in my drop file but it does sound like a lot of people are unhappy with the reduced crew compliment. Are they going to Emirates, MAM, Jetstar or Tiger?
Any gos would be appreciated.