An Air New Zealand pilot who didn't want to stay at a hotel next to the United States Embassy in London in case of a terrorist bombing has been backed by the Employment Relations Authority.

Michael Alexander Talbot, of Papakura, flies Boeing 747 jumbos for Air New Zealand.

In November 2003 the airline decided to change its pilots' London hotel to one in Grosvenor Square, where the United States has its embassy.

Mr Talbot, fearing a terrorist attack on the embassy, refused to stay at the hotel. He booked himself in elsewhere at a hotel costing "slightly" more than ?80 ($220.68) a night .

Air New Zealand had allowed any pilots who might "feel uncomfortable" at the hotel to choose another one and about 30 of its 180 pilots on the route opted to stay elsewhere....

Some Air Nelson flights have already been grounded as staff begin strike action today.

Staff are to picket outside the Air New Zealand-owned airline from midday.

Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU) aviation industry organiser Strachan Crang said the strike was already biting.

"The company has grounded two of its 18 aircraft in a move we believe is an attempt to reduce servicing load and we're expecting they'll be trying to load aircraft using management. We believe these managerial decisions are likely to cause disruption to flights."...

Air New Zealand wants other tourism businesses to take a more aggressive approach in attracting visitors.

The national airline, which is looking to outstrip the New Zealand tourism industry as a whole in annual growth percentages, would look for annual capacity and passenger growth in the order of 6 to 9 per cent in the period to 2015, its short-haul airlines group general manager, Norm Thompson, said yesterday.

He was speaking in Rotorua at Trenz 2007 (Tourism Rendezvous New Zealand), where other growth forecasts were not so high....

Air New Zealand wishes to advise that effective 23rd May the following changes will be made to the long-haul Global Saver and Global Flexi fare rules to Asia/Japan and North America.
- Global Saver fare rules now permit re-routing after departure at a charge of $200 per reissue
- Fare combinations are permitted between any Global Saver or Global Flexi from New Zealand to Asia/Japan/North America
- Ticket reissue/revalidation is now restricted to the original issuing agent or Air New Zealand
- Booking classes for travel within New Zealand reflect the changes Air New Zealand�s Special Domestic Add-ons
- Business Premier fares now have a ticketing time-limit and a no-show clause making these fares Global Flexi fares

Air New Zealand wish to advise that effective for sales from 07 June 2007 and travel from 04 October 2007, Premium Economy Class will be available on all A320 flights ex Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to and from Norfolk Island.

Air New Zealand wish to advise that effective for sales immediately for travel from 01 June 2007, Business Class will be reinstated on all A320 flights ex Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to and from Brisbane. Business class travel will now be available on all Air New Zealand services to/from Brisbane, regardless of the aircraft type operating.

Your CRS system will be progressively updated to reflect this change. All customers with ticketed bookings in Pacific Premium Economy class for travel on/after 01 June 2007 will be automatically transferred into Business Class & provided with Business class service.

Pacific Premium Economy bookings to Brisbane that were booked prior to 10 May 2007 but not yet ticketed, are required to be ticketed no later than 18 May 2007.

Pacific Premium Economy class customers who have booked but have not been ticketed by 18 May 2007 are to be re-booked into their preferred cabin of travel adhering to the applicable fare rules and conditions.

Schedule Change on Services to/from LAX
Air New Zealand wishes to advise due to an up-gauge from a B777-200 to a B747-400, timings on selected services to/from Auckland and Los Angeles in September and October are revised as follows:

Friday 21 September, Friday 28 September and Sunday 23rd September 2007
NZ6 AKL-LAX 19:45 / 12:40 (previously 19:30 / 12:40)

Friday 21 September and Sunday 23rd September 2007
NZ5 LAX-AKL 22:30 / 06:15 +2 (previously 22:30 / 06:30 +2)

Friday and Sunday 30 September to 26 October 2007
NZ6 AKL-LAX 20:45 / 12:40 (previously 20:30 / 12:40)

Friday and Sunday 28 September to 26 October 2007
NZ5 LAX-AKL 22:30 / 07:15 +2 (previously 22:30 / 07:30 +2)

Amendment to Special Domestic Add-on Fare Structure
Air New Zealand�s special domestic add-ons sold in combination with selected Air New Zealand international fares (i.e. Global Saver and Global Flexi) will be amended for all new bookings from Wednesday 23 May 2007. These changes will impact the fare pricing and domestic sector booking classes for these special domestic add-ons.

From 23 May, Special domestic add-on sectors sold in combination with Global Saver fares will be booked in Q class while domestic sectors sold in combination with Global Flexi fares will be booked in Y class. The new zones and applicable return fares ex Auckland are;
Zone Fare Zone Origin Cities ex AKL
1 $100 WLG/CHC
2 $150 HLZ/WRE/TRG/KAT/KKE/ROT/WHK/TUO/NPL
3 $200 WAG/PMR/GIS/NPE/NSN/DUD/BHE/ZQN/HKK/WSZ/OAM/TIU/IVC/WKA

All through fares will be constructed over AKL and fares contrasted from provincial airport to the chosen destination using these special domestic add-ons will be the same regardless of the routing flown. i.e. DUD-CHC-AKL-LAX or DUD-AKL-LAX will be the same. One way fares are set at 60% of the return fare.

These special domestic add-on fares can only be sold if the following conditions are applied.
� Air New Zealand international fare product must permit combinations with special domestic add-ons
� Domestic flights must be in the same PNR as the international flights and issued on the same Air New Zealand (086) ticket

International airfares sold/ticketed by another airline can not be combined with these special domestic add-ons even if the other airlines airfare includes Air New Zealand international carriage in the itinerary.

There are a number of customer benefits delivered when buying an Air NZ airfare that is combined with special domestic add-ons.
� Reduced cost for domestic sectors connecting with an international flight
� International baggage allowance/commission/fare conditions are applied to the domestic flight/s
� Through check-in is provided from/to the point of origin
� International fares can be published from all Air New Zealand domestic airports allowing simplified fare display/fare quote
� Domestic and International sectors can be issued on one ticket

The introduction of the new special domestic add-ons will not affect the following.
� The Domestic D940 add-ons used to construct Trans Tasman through fares remain unchanged
� International conjunction fares QFL/HFL remain unchanged
� International fares currently common-rated ex AKL/WLG/CHC remain common-rated

An Air New Zealand pilot who didn't want to stay at a hotel next to the United States Embassy in London in case of a terrorist bombing has been backed by the Employment Relations Authority.

[...]

In November 2003 the airline decided to change its pilots' London hotel to one in Grosvenor Square, where the United States has its embassy

Air New Zealand today announced to staff a significant initiative to assist with their retirement savings.

Group General Manager People Vanessa Stoddart says the airline will be matching employee contributions to the new KiwiSaver scheme from the time they join.

Under KiwiSaver employer contributions do not have to reach four percent until April 1, 2011.

Ms Stoddart says Air New Zealand�s decision to immediately move to four percent employer contributions is a reflection of the importance the airline places on helping its staff save for retirement.

�Our people are Air New Zealand�s greatest asset and we aim to ensure that we do everything we can while they are with us to lay the foundation for a comfortable future in retirement.�

Ms Stoddart says today�s announcement will mean that many Air New Zealand staff not currently in a superannuation scheme will see their earnings increase on an annualised basis, if they join KiwiSaver.

�Given most annual wage rises are in the three-to-four percent range, the addition of the KiwiSaver contribution would see the earnings of many Air New Zealanders increase substantially.�

Ms Stoddart says Air New Zealand welcomes the fact that some in the union movement have already recognised that there would be a trade-off between the headline wage claim and KiwiSaver in forthcoming industrial negotiations.

�For example, EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little has already stated � �Where an employer agrees to make contributions to KiwiSaver, we see that contribution as part of the 5% claim��.�

Ms Stoddart says today�s KiwiSaver announcement will be one of several over the next year aimed at the development and support of Air New Zealand�s staff.
�The process of rejuvenating Air New Zealand has necessitated some tough decisions over the past few years. As a result, most Air New Zealanders have been confronted with change or uncertainty as we have worked hard to get the airline back on its feet and into a position where it can be internationally competitive again,� she says.

�With the airline now growing strongly in all markets, and notwithstanding our commitment to continue to improve productivity and reduce the cost of air travel for Air New Zealand passengers, we are committed to investing in the future of our people and working with them to help them realise their full career potential and to assist them with developing their future financial security.�

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union welcomes Air New Zealand�s move to bring its KiwiSaver contributions forward but is cautious about the impact of the move on bargaining with the national carrier.

Many of the Air New Zealand collective employment agreements already have union-negotiated provisions for contributions to a worker superannuation scheme that exceeded four percent.

EPMU National Secretary Andrew Little says he is concerned the company will try to cut costs by trading off wage increases against KiwiSaver payments.

�In many cases our members are already getting the employers contributions they and their predecessors have fought for. We�ll be looking very closely at this to make sure Air New Zealand isn�t offering our members something less than they�re already entitled to in exchange for low pay rises.

�Air New Zealand hasn�t consulted with us over this and we�ve only found out with the rest of the New Zealand public so we haven�t had the chance to crunch the numbers and see if there are any fishhooks for our members yet.

�What we can say is that if this pans out then it is good to see a major New Zealand corporate committing to contributing to its workers� long-term wellbeing but we�ll still be negotiating our collectives based on what our members believe is a fair deal.�

In February the EPMU announced it would take employer contributions to KiwiSaver into account in the 2007/2008 wage round.

Industrial action at Air Nelson's headquarters has caused the cancellation of 29 domestic flights over the next three days affecting about 350 customers.

About 60 Air Nelson staff have been picketing on Thursday outside the business.

The airline and the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union are at odds over wages. The union says the staff are seeking a pay rise of about 5%. Air Nelson, which is owned by Air New Zealand, is offering 3.6% percent over 2� years.

EPMU national aviation organiser Strachan Crang says most of those striking or on overtime bans are engineers or workers who load food freight. He says the staff have received signs of support from the public.

Air Nelson general manager John Hambleton says the airline had to cancel flights because it wants to have aircraft avaliable in case there is an emergency.

Mr Crang says the strike is not about stopping passengers from flying but is about getting a pay rise from a company that has increased its profits.

Air Nelson, a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, has agreed to more pay talks with the union representing striking staff.

The industrial action, which began on Thursday morning, will end tomorrow morning.

The Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union says the workers are asking for a 10.6 percent pay rise over two years....

A union at the centre of a strike against Air Nelson has filed for an injunction, claiming the airline has been using illegal strike-breaking labour.

Airline management loaded freight and did other work last week when members of the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union stopped work over failed pay talks.

The union says Air Nelson breached the Employment Relations Act by using employees from its parent company, Air New Zealand.

Air Nelson denies that.

The union and airline are due to resume negotiations on Tuesday before another threatened stoppage on Thursday.

New Zealand may seek an agreement with the Philippines to make it easier for airlines to operate between each country, Prime Minister Helen Clark said.

Any agreement would be a boost for tourism, trade and the growing Philippine community in New Zealand, Clark said at a news conference in Wellington after talks with President Gloria Arroyo, who arrived for a three-day visit today....

Air New Zealand wishes to advise that due to demand there will be the following additional Friday evening services Auckland to Whangarei and Whangarei to Auckland effective from 29 June 2007.

FRIDAY
Auckland Whangarei Depart 2110 Arrive 2145 NZ 2825
Whangarei Auckland Depart 1950 Arrive 2025 NZ 2826

Air New Zealand is pleased to advise of new long-term through fares to Aitutaki.

The new code share flights (NZ 4022 � 4033) are available on all Air Rarotonga services providing joint schedules between Auckland and Aitutaki. Air Rarotonga�s flights are scheduled to connect to and from Air New Zealand flights arriving and departing from Rarotonga.

A GO Wairarapa survey confirming demand for daily Wairarapa flights adds weight to a call for Air New Zealand to fill the void, says Go Wairarapa economic development manager Geoff Copps.

Results from the survey will be pooled with other regional information to support the business case being taken to the international carrier to schedule national flights based in the region, he said.

"It appears there are enough potential, regular travellers that would value the time savings of flights to and from Masterton's Hood Aerodrome to develop a viable service. This survey has added weight to our discussions with Air New Zealand....

Air New Zealand says it has launched its own investigation into an apparent near miss at Auckland Airport.

The Transport Accident Investigation Commission says an Air New Zealand Beech 1900 and an Air Nelson Saab got too close to each other on Tuesday.

The Air New Zealand flight was landing, and the Air Nelson flight was due to take off, when both ended up on the runway together....