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+ BA Strike Threat Looms As Cabin Crew Reject Final Offer +
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BA Strike Threat Looms As Cabin Crew Reject Final Offer
British Airways cabin crew have rejected what the airline's management described as their "final" pay offer by 3,419 votes to 1,686. Nearly half of the Unite union's members voted in the ballot in which BA's offered a 2.9% pay rise next year with 3% the year after. In previous ballotts over 70% of union members have taken part with 80 - 90% of those participating voting for industrial action.
The latest vote is another installment in an industrial dispute dating back to November Last year when British Airways Management imposed new terms and conditions on employees based at Heathrow in an attempt to address the company's detoriating financial situation. In the interim period both parties the dispute have defended their position in the High Court with BA Cabin Crew eventually striking for 22 days in the spring - the stike is thought to have cost BA around £150m. In Ma this year , BA reported its biggest annual loss since it's privatisation in 1987 - £531m for the 12 months to March 2010. .
Somne commentators believe that the BA proposal would have been accepted if the offer had also included a complete reinstatement of staff's travel benefits that were withdrawn fom staff who had participated in the earlier industrial action. BA's offer only included a partial reinstatement of these benefits to those who have taken strike action.accompanied by and undertaking not to victimise those staff.
The Unite Union did not reccomend or reject the BA offer to its members but one of its branches 'BASSA' pointed out that the pay offer was a good offer but the company's decision not to fully reinstate the travel benefits was a 'bad' decision.
Some analysts believe that BA cabin crew reluctantly accept that the airline has had to change to the terms and conditions offered to new staff if it is to compete with other carriers sucj as Virgin easyJet and Ryanair employ staff on lower salaries. BA management argue that unless the union accepts these changes it will not be able to to return to profit.
The result of the cabin crew vote to reject the latest offer means that Unite may hold another strike ballot which if approved by its members could result in further strikes which could take place from the last week in August. However as the rejection of the present offer was made by only 46% by cabin crew members eligible to vote any industrial action might be restricted to other measures such as a work to rule.
After the rejection of BA's proposal Unite leader Tony Woodley said that he would ask for further round table talks with BA and its Chief Executive Officer Willie Walsh who had to accept that the cabin crew decision was a call for him to wake up. Mr Woodly said that Mr Walsh had to 'grasp the nettle' and and that he should realise that the main stumbling block was his refusal to fuly reinstate the withdrawn travel concessions.
BA shares stood 1.4% lower at 199p shortly after the announcement.
American Airline Merger Will Create New World Leader
The American United Airlines and Continental Airlines have agreed on the terms of a merger which will make the new company the words biggest carrier - currently they are individually the 2nd and 5th biggest carriers in the world. The deal reported to be worth £2.1bn will save the companies who are currently loss-making around £700m per year. The new company will be called United Airlines and incorporate the present Contintental branding colours.
Continental's boss Jeff Smisek will become the Chief Executive of the new company whilst Glenn Tilton from United Airlines will be the non-executive chairman. The company's headquarters will be in Chicago.
Announcing the merger Glenn Tilton said "We are creating a stronger, more efficient airline, both operationally and financially, better positioned to succeed in a dynamic and highly competitive global aviation industry," Jeff Sismek said that some cost-savings would come from getting the most out of aircraft and sharing IT services.
Neither company, who together employ 85,000 gave any details about staff cuts other than they expected front-line employees to be "minimally affected by the merger", though other staff reductions would follow through 'retirements and voluntary redundancy. However some analysts thinks some redundancies are inevitable. Last year United lost $1.1bn loss for 2009. and Continental $282m.
The United-Continental merger will have to be approved by shareholders, the unions in each company and then the consent of competition regulators with the latter being the greatest hurdle.
Search For Miissing Air France Flight Recorders Moves Foward
A French submarine has pinpointed the area on the Atlantic sea floor where the flight recorders from Air France Flight 447 are lying. The plane crashed into the sea last killing all 228 on board. lives. The Emeraude submarine's sonar has narrowed the search for the recorders to a 5km sq area but retrieving them physically will remain extremely difficult.
Most People Are Not Easily Deterred From Flying
Cheap flight comparison site Skyscanner has revealed after interviewing 300 patrons of the site that 31% would not book a flight to a destination where a medical fepidemic had prevailed within the last 12 months.. However those put of by an incident in the last three months such a f a terrorist attack would only be 21%, with civil unrest a close third at 21% citing a terrorist attack, 20%, civil unrest and 17%, a natural disaster.
BA Blame Volcano Fall In Passenger Traffic In April
British Airways carried 22.6 less traffic in April this year compared with 2009 Broken down their passengers decreased year on year by 19.8 per cent decrease in premium class seats and 22.9 per cent decrease in economy. In a statement British Aiways cited the no fly ban on flights due to the Icelanbd Volcano as the main factor for the decline whicj they cited as being equivalent to the loss of six full days of services. The statement also said that strike e action by cabin crew also decreased the figures.
European Airlines Seek Changes To Compensation Regulations
The Association of European Airlines, representing Europe’s many of europes carriers, has welcomed the statement of EU Commissioner Kallas at the Transport Council this week to investigate the financial consequences of the nine-day disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano by the end of June, which should also provide clarity about the uniform treatment of airlines and their customers. The Transport Ministers met in a special session to discuss the report of the European Commission’s High Level Task Force on the impact of the closure of most of European airspace. They noted the Task Force findings and propose a medium-term review of procedures. However, the outcome provided little encouragement for airlines, whose business was closed down for a week, and passengers, who were stranded throughout Europe and across the world.
AEA Secretary General Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus said : “The Task Force report, presented by Commission Vice-President Kallas, contains a wealth of worthwhile proposals. The Commission correctly identified shortcomings in the European decision-making process. As a consequence of the disproportionate closure of air space, passengers must have assurances that their costs will be covered. Airlines should be granted non-discriminatory and fair compensation for the damage they incurred. And those concerned must improve the procedures.” AEA welcomed the consensus amongst the EU Ministers to expedite the implementation of the Single European Sky programme to rationalise European airspace, and in doing so put in place a more effective crisis-management framework. And in the broader context, their commitment to develop an aviation policy ‘platform’ addresses the uncoordinated nature of European aviation regulation.
Mr Schulte-Strathausess added ''However the Transport Ministers failed to address the economic impact of the airspace closures and no directions were given on improvements to the current procedures. "An opportunity has been missed to provide Europe with the guidance and leadership we all require in determining how to compensate for the damage incurred. Lessons must be learned from the grounding of European aviation, and in future we must maintain our high levels of safety without giving rise to a breakdown of our infrastructure. Only then will Europe's economy remain internationally competitive".
Airports Closure & Cancelled Flights -
Advice About Your From Which Holiday
Which Holiday 21st April: Following the opening of UK airspace, Rochelle Turner, Head of Research for Which? Holiday, says: "These past seven days have been costly for everyone affected by the volcanic eruption. "Many air passengers have incurred additional costs over the last week - they should get in touch with their airline or insurance company at the earliest possible opportunity to find out what they can claim back. "Keeping costs to a reasonable level and holding on to receipts or proofs of purchase will help, but how much passengers get back will vary, depending on their individual situations."
Who do I submit my claim to? Your flight, with an EU based airline, was cancelled and the airline made alternative plans for your travel: If your airline is based in the EU, the airline must, by law, refund you for reasonable costs incurred during the delay to your journey. They must refund reasonable costs involved in buying food or refreshment; two telephone calls, emails or faxes; hotel accommodation in cases where one or more nights stay is necessary; and any transport costs.
There is no upper limit on the amount of money passengers can claim back, although all costs should be reasonable in relation to the waiting time. Make sure you keep all receipts, and send a copy of these receipts to your airline, along with full contact details and any booking reference you may have. Unfortunately, if your airline was based outside the EU you may not have the same protection. This is because the cancellation rights under the European regulations apply only if you are flying from an EU airport, or from an airport outside the EU, to an EU airport, on an EU carrier. However, all airlines will have their own policy on what they will be doing in terms of compensating their customers, and customers should contact their airline to find out what they can claim for.
If your flight was cancelled but you chose to take a refund and make your own travel arrangements: The airline must refund you the cost of your ticket. However, after that they have no duty of care to you. Call your travel insurer to find out what their policy is on refunding customers for costs incurred in making alternative travel plans before making those plans. According to the Association of British Insurers, there is no Act of God exclusion in travel insurance policies. Insurers should not reject your claim on these grounds; however, some have other exclusions, which they may claim exempts them from paying compensation to passengers affected (e.g. some insurers are not paying out because they believe this falls under their definition of a 'natural disaster').
If you have already travelled but didn't first call your insurer, it is still worth submitting your receipts. Many insurance companies are taking claims on a case by case basis and may refund you for extra costs. Again, these should be for reasonable expenses. If you do not have travel insurance, or if you were on a flight with a non-EU based airline, and paid by credit card: All airlines will have their own policy on what they will be doing in terms of compensating their customers, and customers should contact their airline to find out what they can claim for. However, if you paid for your trip on a credit card it may be possible to claim back the original cost of your cancelled flights from your credit card provider under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. More information from Which Holiday
Children Will Have To Undergo Full Body Scans
Children flying from UK airports wil shortly have to have full body scanners according tor new proposals announced by the British Government. Currently tany one under 18 years of age is not required to have these scans as some civil liberty groups have suggested that resulting images taken would breach child pornography laws under the 1978 Protection of Children Act. .
In a satement the British Transport Secretary Lord Adonis said “We will be requiring all children who are selected to be screened using the scanners. To do otherwise would risk undermining the effect of these new measures. ” He added "Airport security staff have all been cleared to Government security-vetting level, which includes a check of criminal and security service records. Staff have received comprehensive initial training and regular refresher training in aviation security and customer service.” He also said that staff had been trained in aviation security and “customer service” so as to carry out their jobs “in a sensitive and proportionate manner.”
Airline Passengers Beginning To Return
Air passenger traffic and cargo movements are higher than at this time last year according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) but neither market has managed to is trade at the levels set before the economoc crisis that developed in autimn 2008.
IIn February, year on year figures showed that international passenger rose p 9.5%, and cargo movements by 26.5%, European aitlines carriers posted the weakest improvement with passenger growth at 4.3 and in the US it was 4.4%..These figures are still 1.4% and 3% respectively below the level before before the down turn. but according to IATA'S CEO Giovanni Bisignani“ We are moving in the right direction - - The task ahead is to adjust to two years of lost growth.”
The UK High Court have ruled that the British Government consent for a third runaway failed to consult those affected properly and that evidence on the proposed runways affect on climate was outdated. The Judge, Lord Justice Carnwath ruled that approval for the scheme was therefor 'untennable' and plans for the runway could not proceed without the consultation process beginning again.
A coalition of isix local councils green groups, including Greenpeace, and residents had argued that government's approval of the runway was flawed by "conspicuously unfair" public consultations. The coalition also argued that the planned expansion was at odds with the UK's policy on meeting climate change.
In a statement after the ruling the coalition said: "If the government wants to pursue its plans for Heathrow expansion it must now go back to square one and reconsider the entire case for the runway." Hayes and Harlington Labour MP John McDonnell added "In essence this judgment means that the game is up for a third runway at Heathrow and I am calling upon the government to accept the inevitable and lift this threat to my community.- what we need now is a sensible approach to developing a sustainable transport policy based upon high-speed rail." The Department of Transport has said it will continue to argue for the runway.
International Air Travel Begins To Blossom Again
International air passenger travel rose 6.4 percent in January, according to the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The industry's trade group said international air traffic outstripped the 1.2 percent gain in passenger capacity in January, helping aircraft load factors and the percentage of seats filled with fare paying customers which rose to 75.9 percent, up compared with 72.2 percent in January 2009.
In a statement IATA said "We can start to see the future with some cautious optimism, but better volumes do not necessarily mean better profits," the association said. "Passenger yields are still 15 percent below peak. And we expect 2010 losses to be $5.6 billion." The areas with the greatest improvements were the Middle East, up 23.6 percent, and Latin America, up 11 percent in January.
Airlines in Northern America and Europe saw increases in demand of 2.1 percent and 3.1 percent respectively. However airlines in these areas are still carrying 4 to 6 percent less passengers than in 2008.
New X Ray Scanner Will See Whats Under Through Your Clothes
Related Item: Scanners May Break Human Rights & UK Child Pornography Laws
The failed terrorist attack on the Detroit airliner is likely to increase the sales of controversial X-ray scanner which allows security staff to see through a persons clothes. These machines were not available at the airports used by the Detroit bomber. The all over body scanner which effectively 'undresses those its scans 'will reveal breast enlargements, body piercings, hip replacements and any items concealed in the clothes, attached or moulded to the to the body. The scanner will replace the need for 'pat down' body searches which some people are not comfortable with. The scans will be viewed by a security officer in a enclosed area from which he will be able to physically see the person passing through the scanner
The scanners which are known as 'image technology' cost around £80,000 each are manufactured by Rapiscan Systems who thought to be manufacturing up to 2,000 machines for the US Transport Security Agency who are responsible for security at American airports. In the UK the equipment is currently on trial at Terminal 2 Manchester Airport. Similar trial are underway in Europe. The machine has certified as safe by the National Radiological Protection Board who say that the 20,000 scans have radiation level equivalent to a single dental X-ray.