NRT, HKG and FRA FA Bases Closing (Oct 2020), re-assignment issues
#16
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#17
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For HKG-SIN to be able to operate, you will need a team of Asian based crews. U.S. crews can't do that for various reasons. GUM based crews might be able to do that, but UA terminated GUM-HKG.
And UA is not stupid to operate a route for only a few weeks.
And UA is not stupid to operate a route for only a few weeks.
#18
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I don't think this is correct. A U.S.-based crew can absolutely operate HKG-SIN on a U.S.-based airline to the best of my knowledge. But I am interested in hearing the "various reasons" they cannot in case I am incorrect.
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https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/03/w...ong-china.html
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There were US crews doing MEL-SYD-SFO in the past and there was no FA base in MEL or SYD.
SQ operates SIN-FRA-JFK without EU or US based crew as far as I know.
Emirate exercise several of the fifth freedom flights and they don't have FA bases at all the cities where the fifth freedom flights are connected.
When I started flying intra-Asia fights out of NRT, many of the FAs were UA crew, and others are not necessarily based on the NRT. For example, NRT-PEK/SHA-PVG were using a mix of US, NRT, SIN or TPE based FAs.
Last edited by UA_Flyer; Jun 5, 2020 at 8:17 pm
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In this economic climate and with air travel not likely to rebound to pre-Covid 19 level for a couple of years at least, some of the FAs may be hard to find another airlines to work for and may need to change career and stay grounded for good.
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I'm surprised that UA isn't trying to keep a FA base somewhere in Asia as it's cheaper, although with no prominent hub, there's no big flexibility advantage. Unless mainland China life restrictions, there's similarly no single Asian language for which it would be worthwhile to have a lot of FAs with local language skills (and cultural awareness).
#25
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I'm surprised that UA isn't trying to keep a FA base somewhere in Asia as it's cheaper, although with no prominent hub, there's no big flexibility advantage. Unless mainland China life restrictions, there's similarly no single Asian language for which it would be worthwhile to have a lot of FAs with local language skills (and cultural awareness).
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#28
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For the FAs eligible to return to a base in the U.S., am I correct in thinking a domino effect impacts the junior flight attendants in these U.S. bases? While I recognize that the most senior FAs have a certain level of security, what level of seniority in the US bases are potentially at risk (as a result of these international transfers returning)? ie, a FA hire year of 2005 and higher?
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