PaulD Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 This is going to get very interesting. https://www.businessinsider.com/icelandair-fire-all-flight-attendants-make-pilots-do-job-2020-7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
conehead Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Interesting approach to Labour Relations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cargoagent Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Is Milton on the BOD of Icelandair? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 1 hour ago, Cargoagent said: Is Milton on the BOD of Icelandair? Will the pilots and others go out in support? NBL I suspect Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Obviously very poor management decision making - if they really wanted to save money they should have fired the pilots and kept the flight attendants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
internet Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 at the risk of infuriating some - let’s be honest - a pilot is a much harder position to replace. The level of training and skills is higher than any FA. So keep as many pilots as possible - if the business grows/returns to “normal” hiring FAs is easy compared to finding pilots. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cargoagent Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 3 minutes ago, internet said: at the risk of infuriating some - let’s be honest - a pilot is a much harder position to replace. The level of training and skills is higher than any FA. So keep as many pilots as possible - if the business grows/returns to “normal” hiring FAs is easy compared to finding pilots. I doubt that over the next 3 or 4 years airlines will have little trouble finding staff to fill any position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
internet Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 So fire lots of pilots. Then try to get them back? If the situation arises where they need pilots, don’t you think ever other airline will be looking for pilots too? Is this really about being an FA is beneath a pilot? Lay-off better than showing people how to buckle a seat belt? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudder Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 This is a ridiculous move for a company that is apparently spiralling out of control. Perhaps at Icelandair pilots that are familiar with wrenches and screwdrivers will take over for the AME’s? It sends just one message — DO NOT FLY ICELANDAIR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.k. Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Sorry to here all these people losing their jobs, but perhaps it's a creative solution to ensure the pilots can stay current, and the business can stay viable and respond timely to a recovery leading to an eventual recall. Otherwise perhaps everyone will be gone... Spool up time to get a new pilot trained and ready for the line is in the order of 3 months. FAs with minimum training? I'd guess 1-2 weeks? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.k. Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Perhaps Icelandair has been considering this action previously - Pilot FAs - you have to wait until the end... Please don't watch if you take offense easily... but the context seems right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 https://onemileatatime.com/icelandair-wont-lay-off-flight-attendants/G Icelandair Won’t Lay Off All Flight Attendants After All JULY 19, 2020 BY BEN 3 ICELANDAIR It looks like Icelandair flight attendants won’t (temporarily) be replaced by pilots after all. In this post: Icelandair was going to lay off all flight attendants Icelandair & union sign new agreement Bottom line Icelandair was going to lay off all flight attendants A couple of days ago I wrote about how Icelandair intended to lay off all flight attendants. The plan was for flight attendants to temporarily be replaced by pilots, given the excess pilots the company has as it’s operating a limited schedule. The company was then going to find “another party in the Icelandic labor market” to assume this role long-term. This decision came after members of Icelandair’s flight attendant union voted against a collective bargaining agreement about a year ago. Since then, management and flight attendants had been unable to come to an agreement regarding wages and time off. The head of the Icelandic Confederation of Labour said in response to this that they were “exploring every avenue to prevent this,” saying that this is “unbelievably shameless on Icelandair’s part.” Icelandair & union sign new agreement Fortunately it looks like a tentative agreement has been reached between Icelandair and the Icelandic Cabin Crew Association (FFI), as parties have managed to resume discussions, and have signed a new collective bargaining agreement. This agreement is valid through September 30, 2025, and is based on the same principles as the agreement that was agreed to on June 25, 2020. The company claims that the agreement results in further reduction in operating costs without negatively affecting the employee terms of cabin crew members (I’m not sure how exactly that works, but…). The agreement will now be presented to FFI members, who will vote on the agreement by July 27, 2020. It remains to be seen if they’ll accept the terms, though given the threat of all cabin crew otherwise being laid off, perhaps this has a better chance of passing this time around. As a result, Icelandair pilots won’t take over responsibility for onboard safety, and the most recent cabin crew layoffs will be withdrawn. Bottom line Icelandair sure made headlines when the company planned to lay off flight attendants and temporarily replace them with pilots. I’m happy to hear that the company has backtracked a bit. Management and the union have agreed on a new contract, but it will now be up to individual flight attendants to vote on this in the coming days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted July 19, 2020 Share Posted July 19, 2020 As I figured - a bargaining tactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 On 7/18/2020 at 12:14 PM, j.k. said: Sorry to here all these people losing their jobs, but perhaps it's a creative solution to ensure the pilots can stay current, and the business can stay viable and respond timely to a recovery leading to an eventual recall. Otherwise perhaps everyone will be gone... Spool up time to get a new pilot trained and ready for the line is in the order of 3 months. FAs with minimum training? I'd guess 1-2 weeks? That is a frequently repeated assertion and no matter how often stated fails to conceal the .... Never mind...you finish medical school in 2 years followed by clerkship for 2 years. Would you be first in line for treatment at the unsupervised hands of that physician? How about a lawyer....3 years plus articles. Want him or her standing in your defense to a capital murder charge? Yes....you can " qualify" as an FA in SIX weeks of intensive training but most realize that years of experience are unequalled. The same is of course true of pilots. A CPL requires what....80 hours ground school and a test? Yup! THAT'S 2 weeks. But we all know its all about the preceding hours that make you who you are....and what you can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j.k. Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Fails to conceal the what exactly? If you're going to "nevermind" it, just don't include it, that's what backspace is for. That's impressive that a 6 week intensive training course is conducted by some in this business, and we understand what that brings in terms of consistency and quality of service/product, but that's certainly not what's required to fill the position. I think your comparators are a little off... Rookie Doctors and Lawyers vs. Flight Attendants? If you say so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specs Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 You guys are comparing apples to oranges. There are some airlines that FFers regard as prestige simply because of their cabin crew. There are some airlines that people won't even touch because of their accident history and poor flight crew performance. The bottom line is that provided the flight crew is competent, you can't have a profitable international carrier without a great cabin crew and the better the cabin crew do their job, the more the flight crew can be paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Specs said: The bottom line is that provided the flight crew is competent, you can't have a profitable international carrier without a great cabin crew and the better the cabin crew do their job, the more the flight crew can be paid. Good point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 Well said, Specs. Maybe it takes more than just a keyboard to reasonably express an intelligent comment. Maybe...just maybe...it requires prior thought, understanding and empathy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpperDeck Posted July 21, 2020 Share Posted July 21, 2020 5 hours ago, j.k. said: Fails to conceal the what exactly? If you're going to "nevermind" it, just don't include it, that's what backspace is for. That's impressive that a 6 week intensive training course is conducted by some in this business, and we understand what that brings in terms of consistency and quality of service/product, but that's certainly not what's required to fill the position. I think your comparators are a little off... Rookie Doctors and Lawyers vs. Flight Attendants? If you say so... I believe self restraint is a desirable quality. Wouldn't you agree? And yet one must try to find some way to communicate an "adverse" response. I think I succeeded. However, let me add that my post was incorrect. The Air Canada training program is 7 ( not 6 nor 1-2) weeks of full time training that the company deems necessary to meet Transport Canada requirements. I actually have stood beside an accused as counsel in defence of a murder charge.....three times....successfuly. But I would never for a moment suggest that I had what it takes to be a flight attendant. And to be clear....nor do I have what it takes to be a pilot . I believe the reference is to hours upon hours of utter boredom offset by the rare but ever- present risk of moments of utter terror which is usually felt after and not during the event. That reference applies to flight crew as well as cabin crew. However, should you need someone to write an article or give a speech...I'm your man! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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