Air France pilots threaten with strike on 11 January over "safety concerns"
#1
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Air France pilots threaten with strike on 11 January over "safety concerns"
Interesting. Not sure how much is true and how much impact it could have:
https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-se...er-2142407.php
According to the article a pilot refused to depart when the purser didn't report for duty because of sickness. The pilot mentioned that since the purser is responsible for safety in the cabin it was unsafe to leave. Air France assigned another person of the crew as new purser but this didn't convince the pilot. Subsequently Air France sent another pilot to perform the flight. SPAF is now threatening with strike because they claim Air France management didn't respect the pilots decision. According to Air France everything was well within the safety rules in order to operate the flight as planned.
https://www.lesechos.fr/industrie-se...er-2142407.php
According to the article a pilot refused to depart when the purser didn't report for duty because of sickness. The pilot mentioned that since the purser is responsible for safety in the cabin it was unsafe to leave. Air France assigned another person of the crew as new purser but this didn't convince the pilot. Subsequently Air France sent another pilot to perform the flight. SPAF is now threatening with strike because they claim Air France management didn't respect the pilots decision. According to Air France everything was well within the safety rules in order to operate the flight as planned.
#2
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The three AF pilot unions (ALTER-SNPL-SPAF) have called for the strike.
Their press release is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2rh00ac1kj...20CDB.pdf?dl=0
Looks like a baroud d'honneur as we say in French.
Their press release is here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/2rh00ac1kj...20CDB.pdf?dl=0
Looks like a baroud d'honneur as we say in French.
Last edited by bodory; Jan 5, 2018 at 2:28 am
#3
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Air France sometimes scares me a bit, often it’s better to not know what is going on behind the scenes. Glad the pilots are standing solidly behind safety and not letting corners be cut, no matter how trivial they might seem.
#5
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I dont see the problem. Being purser is a role, not a specific person. If they assigned this role to another (qualified) person, why would safety be at risk?
While I can understand that pilots are not happy about being pushed, thay is a different matter - and I would say not (directly) related to safety.
While I can understand that pilots are not happy about being pushed, thay is a different matter - and I would say not (directly) related to safety.
#6
Join Date: Jun 2003
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I dont see the problem. Being purser is a role, not a specific person. If they assigned this role to another (qualified) person, why would safety be at risk?
While I can understand that pilots are not happy about being pushed, thay is a different matter - and I would say not (directly) related to safety.
While I can understand that pilots are not happy about being pushed, thay is a different matter - and I would say not (directly) related to safety.
#7
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As luck would have it, I have my first AF flight scheduled on 11th.
When and where would I find whether the strike is actually going? I'd like to be proactive and get myself on an alternative flight in advance if at all possible - the connection I have actually leaves earlier than I'd have liked.
Also, does strike of own crew count as force majeure?
When and where would I find whether the strike is actually going? I'd like to be proactive and get myself on an alternative flight in advance if at all possible - the connection I have actually leaves earlier than I'd have liked.
Also, does strike of own crew count as force majeure?
#8
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I dont see the problem. Being purser is a role, not a specific person. If they assigned this role to another (qualified) person, why would safety be at risk?
While I can understand that pilots are not happy about being pushed, thay is a different matter - and I would say not (directly) related to safety.
While I can understand that pilots are not happy about being pushed, thay is a different matter - and I would say not (directly) related to safety.
The thing that often strikes me and others on AF is obviously that only "crew members with the red badge are responsible for your safety". Which means that in the case of an emergency not every FA is useful, they have less helping hands than they could need. I understand why AF does it (allows them to hire short term staff, e.g. students in the summer) and how it can serve as an excuse for absence of service ("we are here for your safety") - but the implications on flight safety are still interesting. AF will certainly not go below the regulatory minimum of 1 FA per 50 pax, and some flights simply have more FAs, so it's all fine. It's just a missed opportunity to have more trained people that could help in the case of an emergency.
#9
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La Tribune is now quoting Olivier Dulat, head of AF flight ops, himself a pilot.
Correct me if I am wrong but I then understand:
- pilot was in his right
- AF was its right
Tempête dans un verre d'eau.
« Mardi 2 janvier (dernier jour d'une rotation de 3 jours), lors du passage à Orly, le chef de cabine a débarqué pour raisons médicales.
Devant la pénurie de chef de cabine de réserve, un PNC (personnel navigant commercial ou steward ou hôtesses, NDLR) compétent « faisant fonction chef de cabine » a donc été désigné pour assurer la fin de la rotation, conformément aux règles de notre Manex A. Le commandant de bord a fait savoir qu'il ne souhaitait pas effectuer la fin de la rotation avec un PNC compétent « faisant fonction chef de cabine ». Compte tenu de l'absence de solution, un scénario d'annulation du vol a d'abord été envisagé.
Plusieurs échanges ont eu lieu entre les pilotes, et le CCO (centre de contrôle des opérations, NDLR) et la flotte pour essayer de l'éviter. A la suite de l'acceptation par un commandant de bord de réserve d'un PNC compétent « faisant fonction de chef de cabine », les pilotes ont été remplacés. Cela a permis d'éviter l'annulation du vol à chaud et les désagréments pour nos clients.
J'ai demandé que les pilotes initialement programmés soient rémunérés comme s'ils avaient effectués la totalité de la rotation. Au cours de ces échanges, le terme de « débarquement » a été utilisé et je le regrette. Il était inapproprié car le commandant de bord est bien en droit de refuser un PNC compétent « faisant fonction CC » comme le précise le manex A*.
Les Opérations Aériennes et l'ensemble de la compagnie n'ont en aucun cas remis en cause les prérogatives du commandant de bord, ni mis en jeu la sécurité des vols en désignant un PNC compétent « faisant fonction CC ».
Cette possibilité est réglementaire et conforme au manuel d'exploitation de la compagnie approuvé par la DGAC. Elle est uniquement utilisée lors d'aléas d'exploitation exceptionnels. »
Devant la pénurie de chef de cabine de réserve, un PNC (personnel navigant commercial ou steward ou hôtesses, NDLR) compétent « faisant fonction chef de cabine » a donc été désigné pour assurer la fin de la rotation, conformément aux règles de notre Manex A. Le commandant de bord a fait savoir qu'il ne souhaitait pas effectuer la fin de la rotation avec un PNC compétent « faisant fonction chef de cabine ». Compte tenu de l'absence de solution, un scénario d'annulation du vol a d'abord été envisagé.
Plusieurs échanges ont eu lieu entre les pilotes, et le CCO (centre de contrôle des opérations, NDLR) et la flotte pour essayer de l'éviter. A la suite de l'acceptation par un commandant de bord de réserve d'un PNC compétent « faisant fonction de chef de cabine », les pilotes ont été remplacés. Cela a permis d'éviter l'annulation du vol à chaud et les désagréments pour nos clients.
J'ai demandé que les pilotes initialement programmés soient rémunérés comme s'ils avaient effectués la totalité de la rotation. Au cours de ces échanges, le terme de « débarquement » a été utilisé et je le regrette. Il était inapproprié car le commandant de bord est bien en droit de refuser un PNC compétent « faisant fonction CC » comme le précise le manex A*.
Les Opérations Aériennes et l'ensemble de la compagnie n'ont en aucun cas remis en cause les prérogatives du commandant de bord, ni mis en jeu la sécurité des vols en désignant un PNC compétent « faisant fonction CC ».
Cette possibilité est réglementaire et conforme au manuel d'exploitation de la compagnie approuvé par la DGAC. Elle est uniquement utilisée lors d'aléas d'exploitation exceptionnels. »
- pilot was in his right
- AF was its right
Tempête dans un verre d'eau.
#10
Join Date: Jun 2003
Posts: 179
No Purser (or no extra crew) could be found (departing Orly?). Of course no airline wants to have too many reserve crew (in average), it is preferable that such situations be resolved by persuading the Captain and the rest of the Crew to operate a flight in a degraded config. How often does this happen, we would never know. The question remains, what does Captain authority mean, when the airline can replace the Captain when(ever) they do not like his decision.
#11
Join Date: May 2017
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No strike anymore.
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises...ve-763911.html
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises...ve-763911.html
#12
Join Date: Jun 2010
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No strike anymore.
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises...ve-763911.html
https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises...ve-763911.html
Guess a strike is a risk to always keep in mind with AF as a posibility