Airline Hiring Back 'Overweight' Flight Attendants
by Fran Golden Subscribe to Fran Golden's posts
Posted Dec 2nd 2010 12:50 PMTEXT SIZE:
AAA21 CommentsPrint this page|EmailShare on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on DiggShare on LifestreamCash-strapped Air India is trying to hire back flight attendants the airline fired last year saying the women were overweight.
Experiencing a major shortage of cabin crew, the carrier has approached nine of the 10 women with offers, according to news reports.
"About three of them have indicated that they would be willing to come back," a spokesman says.
But the women will be required to stay slim enough to meet the carrier's strict staff weight requirements – based on height and age – if they want their old jobs back.
"We are not relaxing our standards," the spokesman says.
At the time of the firings, the carrier said the crew members were significantly overweight and had been given time to slim down.
In August, Turkish Airlines likewise said it was giving 28 flight attendants six months off to lose weight or face reassignment. The group placed on unpaid leave included 13 women and five men.
Some of the fired Indian flight attendants have tried unsuccessfully in the country's courts to have Air India's policy changed.
Meanwhile, an Indian newspaper reports Air India may run out of cash and be unable to pay its staff after March, unless it gets a government bailout.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Sunday, November 21, 2010
New Job for Steven Slater
New job for former JetBlue flight attendant
Buzz up!0 votes
By Brian Alexander – Mon Nov 15, 6:53 pm ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Steven Slater will put his vast experience of memorable air flights to use after signing a deal to judge travelers' 'craziest' stories.
The former JetBlue flight attendant will represent the "Mile High Text Club" contest which invites travelers to text in their most outrageous stories.
The deal is with the company behind a mobile communication application, Line2, which allows inflight texting on Wi-Fi equipped planes.
Peter Sisson, CEO of Toktumi, the company behind the application, called Slater "a perfect judge for a contest concerning the current state of air travel.
"After talking with Steven, I realized that despite his dramatic approach - which he regrets - he was making a statement about the need to return civility and common courtesy to flying."
The "Mile High Text Club" pushes the cause of communicating via text on a flight so other passengers are not disturbed by loud voice calls.
Slater made national headlines in August after he made a dramatic emergency slide exit from a JetBlue plane after an altercation with a passenger over luggage.
(Editing by Zorianna Kit)
Buzz up!0 votes
By Brian Alexander – Mon Nov 15, 6:53 pm ET
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Steven Slater will put his vast experience of memorable air flights to use after signing a deal to judge travelers' 'craziest' stories.
The former JetBlue flight attendant will represent the "Mile High Text Club" contest which invites travelers to text in their most outrageous stories.
The deal is with the company behind a mobile communication application, Line2, which allows inflight texting on Wi-Fi equipped planes.
Peter Sisson, CEO of Toktumi, the company behind the application, called Slater "a perfect judge for a contest concerning the current state of air travel.
"After talking with Steven, I realized that despite his dramatic approach - which he regrets - he was making a statement about the need to return civility and common courtesy to flying."
The "Mile High Text Club" pushes the cause of communicating via text on a flight so other passengers are not disturbed by loud voice calls.
Slater made national headlines in August after he made a dramatic emergency slide exit from a JetBlue plane after an altercation with a passenger over luggage.
(Editing by Zorianna Kit)
Monday, September 6, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Delta Airlines
Delta Air Lines Inc., the world’s largest carrier, said it will recall furloughed attendants and hire an undetermined number of new workers as it adds flights.
The airline expects to begin training the attendants in January and have them flying by mid-2011, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson told employees in a recorded message today. He didn’t say how many flight attendant jobs will be filled at the Atlanta-based carrier.
Delta is adding international flights as the economy recovers and businesses resume travel. The airline said Aug. 4 that its passenger traffic across the Pacific Ocean rose 6.2 percent this year through July, while Latin American traffic increased 3.4 percent.
“We need lots of folks with language skills, given the extensive nature of our international network and the need to be able to communicate with passengers in their own language,” Anderson said.
Airline labor agreements generally require furloughed employees be given a chance to return before new workers are hired.
The carrier is adding flights between London and its hubs at Detroit and Atlanta starting Oct. 31, and is expanding facilities at New York’s Kennedy airport for international routes.
Delta last month said it would fill 1,000 jobs at its 25 biggest U.S. airports to help with planes flying at near-record capacity and cope with weather disruptions. Delta, with about 81,000 workers, has also announced plans to hire 240 pilots.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net.
The airline expects to begin training the attendants in January and have them flying by mid-2011, Chief Executive Officer Richard Anderson told employees in a recorded message today. He didn’t say how many flight attendant jobs will be filled at the Atlanta-based carrier.
Delta is adding international flights as the economy recovers and businesses resume travel. The airline said Aug. 4 that its passenger traffic across the Pacific Ocean rose 6.2 percent this year through July, while Latin American traffic increased 3.4 percent.
“We need lots of folks with language skills, given the extensive nature of our international network and the need to be able to communicate with passengers in their own language,” Anderson said.
Airline labor agreements generally require furloughed employees be given a chance to return before new workers are hired.
The carrier is adding flights between London and its hubs at Detroit and Atlanta starting Oct. 31, and is expanding facilities at New York’s Kennedy airport for international routes.
Delta last month said it would fill 1,000 jobs at its 25 biggest U.S. airports to help with planes flying at near-record capacity and cope with weather disruptions. Delta, with about 81,000 workers, has also announced plans to hire 240 pilots.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Schlangenstein in Dallas at maryc.s@bloomberg.net.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Delta Hiring
Delta Airlines is hiring flight attendants! Go to their website and apply! It is a great opportunity to get start flying with one of the biggest airlines.
http://www.deltajobs.net/career_destinations.htm
http://www.deltajobs.net/career_destinations.htm
Monday, May 17, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Victory for Organized Labor
Rule change favors unions at airlines, railroads
By SAM HANANEL (AP) – 6 days ago
WASHINGTON — In a major victory for organized labor, unions will have an easier time signing up airline and railroad workers after the Obama administration Monday changed a 76-year-old rule on union elections.
The change is the most significant so far in a string of White House moves designed to boost unions, which are struggling to reverse years of decline in membership.
The new rule, announced by the three-member National Mediation Board, would recognize a union if a simple majority of workers who cast ballots approve organizing. The previous rule required a majority of the entire work force to favor unionizing. That meant workers choosing not to vote at all were effectively counted as "no" votes.
Airlines that fought the change say it will lead to more labor disputes that could disrupt commerce and increase delays in an industry already reeling from recession, higher fuel costs and stepped-up security measures.
The most immediate impact of the change would be at Delta Air Lines Inc., where unions are trying to organize about 20,000 flight attendants. Unions are also expected to target workers at smaller carriers, including Allegiant Air, JetBlue Airways, Republic Airways and SkyWest.
"We applaud the NMB for taking this historic and courageous step to bring democracy to union elections," said Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
But the Air Transport Association, which represents most major airlines, is expected to file a lawsuit challenging the new rule.
"It is quite clear to us that the NMB was determined to proceed despite the proposed rule's substantive and procedural flaws, leaving us no choice but to seek judicial review," the industry group said in a statement.
The rule will take effect 30 days after publication Tuesday in the Federal Register. The flight attendants' union said it would seek a representation election at Delta soon afterward.
Proponents of the change say the old rule ran contrary to democratic standards, where the outcome of an election is determined by the majority of those who vote. The change puts union elections at airlines and railroads under the same procedures followed by most other companies, which are overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
"After decades of operating within a system that is rigged against them, rail and aviation workers have at least gained a right that most of us take for granted," said Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.
The board proposed the rule change in October after a request from the AFL-CIO. That request came soon after President Barack Obama named Linda Puchala — the former head of a flight attendant union — to a seat on the board, shifting the balance of power.
The final rule was approved 2-1, with chairwoman Elizabeth Dougherty issuing a fierce dissent. Dougherty, appointed by President George W. Bush, said the change is "an unprecedented departure for the NMB and represents the most dramatic policy shift in the history of the agency."
Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said Delta would support an industry lawsuit challenging the rule change.
"While disappointed, we are not surprised by the majority members' decision in view of the way this rule change has been handled," Laughlin said.
Airlines and railroads employ more than 500,000 workers, and about two-thirds of those are already in unions. That's much higher than the overall union membership rate of 12 percent.
One exception to the higher rate of union representation is at Delta, where only about 15 percent of workers were union members before the carrier merged with heavily unionized Northwest Airlines two years ago. Unions representing flight attendants and ground workers who worked for Northwest want the new rules to cover elections at the combined carrier.
In a 2008 election, 5,253 Delta flight attendants voted to be represented by the AFA. But the union lost under the old election rules because the roughly 8,000 flight attendants who didn't vote were counted as "no" votes.
The new election rules will also help the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Northwest ground workers such as baggage handlers and gate agents. Delta says it has roughly 30,000 workers in that group, including roughly 10,000 who came from Northwest.
AP Airlines Writer Joshua Freed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
On the Net:
National Mediation Board: http://www.nmb.gov/
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
By SAM HANANEL (AP) – 6 days ago
WASHINGTON — In a major victory for organized labor, unions will have an easier time signing up airline and railroad workers after the Obama administration Monday changed a 76-year-old rule on union elections.
The change is the most significant so far in a string of White House moves designed to boost unions, which are struggling to reverse years of decline in membership.
The new rule, announced by the three-member National Mediation Board, would recognize a union if a simple majority of workers who cast ballots approve organizing. The previous rule required a majority of the entire work force to favor unionizing. That meant workers choosing not to vote at all were effectively counted as "no" votes.
Airlines that fought the change say it will lead to more labor disputes that could disrupt commerce and increase delays in an industry already reeling from recession, higher fuel costs and stepped-up security measures.
The most immediate impact of the change would be at Delta Air Lines Inc., where unions are trying to organize about 20,000 flight attendants. Unions are also expected to target workers at smaller carriers, including Allegiant Air, JetBlue Airways, Republic Airways and SkyWest.
"We applaud the NMB for taking this historic and courageous step to bring democracy to union elections," said Patricia Friend, president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA.
But the Air Transport Association, which represents most major airlines, is expected to file a lawsuit challenging the new rule.
"It is quite clear to us that the NMB was determined to proceed despite the proposed rule's substantive and procedural flaws, leaving us no choice but to seek judicial review," the industry group said in a statement.
The rule will take effect 30 days after publication Tuesday in the Federal Register. The flight attendants' union said it would seek a representation election at Delta soon afterward.
Proponents of the change say the old rule ran contrary to democratic standards, where the outcome of an election is determined by the majority of those who vote. The change puts union elections at airlines and railroads under the same procedures followed by most other companies, which are overseen by the National Labor Relations Board.
"After decades of operating within a system that is rigged against them, rail and aviation workers have at least gained a right that most of us take for granted," said Edward Wytkind, president of the AFL-CIO Transportation Trades Department.
The board proposed the rule change in October after a request from the AFL-CIO. That request came soon after President Barack Obama named Linda Puchala — the former head of a flight attendant union — to a seat on the board, shifting the balance of power.
The final rule was approved 2-1, with chairwoman Elizabeth Dougherty issuing a fierce dissent. Dougherty, appointed by President George W. Bush, said the change is "an unprecedented departure for the NMB and represents the most dramatic policy shift in the history of the agency."
Delta spokeswoman Gina Laughlin said Delta would support an industry lawsuit challenging the rule change.
"While disappointed, we are not surprised by the majority members' decision in view of the way this rule change has been handled," Laughlin said.
Airlines and railroads employ more than 500,000 workers, and about two-thirds of those are already in unions. That's much higher than the overall union membership rate of 12 percent.
One exception to the higher rate of union representation is at Delta, where only about 15 percent of workers were union members before the carrier merged with heavily unionized Northwest Airlines two years ago. Unions representing flight attendants and ground workers who worked for Northwest want the new rules to cover elections at the combined carrier.
In a 2008 election, 5,253 Delta flight attendants voted to be represented by the AFA. But the union lost under the old election rules because the roughly 8,000 flight attendants who didn't vote were counted as "no" votes.
The new election rules will also help the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, which represents Northwest ground workers such as baggage handlers and gate agents. Delta says it has roughly 30,000 workers in that group, including roughly 10,000 who came from Northwest.
AP Airlines Writer Joshua Freed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
On the Net:
National Mediation Board: http://www.nmb.gov/
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Thursday, May 13, 2010
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