Air France Pilots Vote to Continue Strike
The pilots voted to continue their strike over the weekend even though the government made some concessions on plans to push back their retirement age. The pilots are unhappy that their retirement age was extended to 65 from 60. The new change will allow them to stop working before 65 without losing any of their benefits. The strike is due to end tonight. Hundreds of flights were cancelled on Sunday and now the chaos could spread to the railways tomorrow when train drivers stage the first of two strikes called by separate unions within days of each other over freight sector reforms.
Pilots and Cabin Crew Blame Alitalia For Cancelled Flights
The pilots and crew say the airline's management is to blame for flights being cancelled as the airline is trying to save money. The airline has cancelled scores of flights over the last week and they have blamed the cabin crew. The airline is announcing in advance the flights to be cancelled this week to reduce inconvenience for passengers. The head of The Pilot's Union said "Alitalia bookings are down by 30% and management is exploiting our work to rule to cut and merge half-empty flights, reduce duplication and costs, and they say to the public that we are to blame." The unions are following a strict "work to rule" campaign and many staff have called in sick. Last I heard you need pilots and cabin crew to fly airplanes.
Air Canada Asks Employees To Smile More
The airline's CEO, Monty Brewer, says "It's up to each and every one of us to work together to be sure that we're also out in front in the soft attributes such as a ready smile, eagerness to help customers and simply perform jobs well." The airline's rival, WestJet, is known for its courteous staff and has been taking market share away from Air Canada for several months and has been expanding while Air Canada has been cutting back on flights. Now Air Canada says it has a renewed focus on customer service. "We must always provide great service and be sure to take care of our customers. Providing better service is the only way that competitors can hope to steal our customers," Brewer said. In the meantime WestJet has been doing just that. Its amazing to me that most airline management doesn't seem to know that they are in the service business and without customers they have no business.
Northwest Cancels Detroit To Gatwick Flight
Northwest is canceling its nonstop service from Detroit to Gatwick on January 11. The service is currently offered in a joint venture with KLM. Delta said it will continue to fly Detroit to Heathrow and Fly Atlanta and Cincinnati to Gatwick.

Passengers Spent Over 24 Hours On A Qantas Flight
The passengers left Singapore at noon Sydney time and were to arrive at 8 pm. However a storm forced the plane to circle the airport for more than an hour and then it was diverted to Canberra where it had to wait four hours for a fuel truck to arrive. By the time the plane was refueled, it was past Sydney's 11 pm curfew time. The airline requested permission from the Department of Transport for special dispensation to land at Sydney and was refused. Qantas kept the passengers on board waiting for the curfew to end but now the crew had already exceeded their maximum time and a new crew was called in. The airline decided to book hotel rooms for the passengers and they were allowed off the plane but there was only one Customs officer to process everyone on the plane. Passengers reported the crew had to ration water, biscuits and toilet paper, four sheets to a person. This was definitely Murphy's Law in overdrive. A Department of Transport spokesperson would not answer questions about why permission to break the curfew was denied.