Strike Plans of Pilots Upsets Air New Zealand

Air New Zealand has harshly criticized the pilot’s planned strike action from its Air Nelson subsidiary, saying that it will heavily impact school holiday travel. Pilots planned the strike to start on Friday the 18th, lasting for 3 days, after unsuccessful and lengthy negotiations between both parties in finding a solution for working conditions and pay. Rick Mirkin, the Executive Director of the New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Association, said that the pilots want a raise in pay and rostering changes, which only allow one weekend off every month as of right now.

Bruce Parton, the Gerneral Manager of Air Nelson, said that the union didn’t like the company’s challenging commercial environment they operate in or the impact that the record high cost of fuel has had. The claims of the New Zealand Airline Pilots’ Association are unsustainable and would cost the airline over 8 million dollars a year total, he continued. Their claims of having time off would require the subsidiary to hire more than an additional 30 pilots, which would cost them more than 3.5 million dollars a year, he noted, and their other claims would cost another 4.5 million. Mr. Parton also continued to say that going along with the union’s claims would mean that the company would have to pass the cost onto their customers. Air Nelson has worked very hard to make budget travel accessible to the customers in the New Zealand region, he added, and it would be a waste to increase their fares just so that the pilots could have a longer weekend.

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