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Aviation History
1981
1981 - 3062.PDF
Air trcinsp Strike-ravaged Alitalia may have found peace ALITALIA'S pilots have signed a new pay and conditions agreement after more than a year of argument and strikes. The agreement runs for three years from October 1 last year, and gives the pilots salary increases of £3,000. They had originally asked for nearly four times that figure. Overmanned Alitalia has long been bedevilled by periodic strikes in almost all sections of its workforce, made worse by industrial action and chronic absenteeism by baggage handlers at Rome's Fiumicino Airport, and by Italian air traffic controllers striking for civilianisation of their profession. Though civilianisation of the ATC system has now started, Alitalia's nightmare is not over; the controllers have called for four 12hr strikes to take place soon. The Italian flag carrier seems to have given up trying to work out how much the various disputes have cost in all. During this year's first four months, when the pilots were at their most militant, about 4,400 scheduled services had to be can celled—about 16 per cent of the period's planned total. Revenue losses amounted to about £22 million at that time, but there have been con siderable losses since then. Italy's Labour Minister has recently been acting as mediator in the air line's arguments with its pilots. And an agreement for the same three- year period has already been reached with Alitalia's ground staff. All the agreements contain clauses limiting future strike action. Alitalia has suffered more than the direct losses caused by cancelled ser vices. For some time now travellers have been shying away from the carrier—even from its domestic ser vices—because of the unreliability re sulting from industrial disputes. If the air traffic controllers will give Alitalia a chance now, it can set about re building a reliable reputation. Qantas loss results in management changes AUSTRALIAN flag carrier Qantas made a net loss of between A$25 and A$30 million (£15-6 million to £18-75 million) in its 1980-81 financial year, and is reported to be undertaking a large-scale management change as a result. The exact loss has not been disclosed yet; the airline's annual re port for the year ending March 31, 1981 is to be seen by Transport Minister Ralph Hunt this month. Qantas is now revising its top man agement structure on the advice of a US consultancy firm which conducted a four-month study into company re porting procedures. The airline used to have a system whereby ten branch directors reported to the deputy general manager; this will be replaced by three new major divisions—mar keting, administration, and operations —whose heads will report directly to chief executive K. R. Hamilton. Qantas has recognised the special labour rela tions problem its cabin crew staff poses, and has made it a special sec tion reporting to the deputy chief executive. According to the airline, fast- increasing fuel costs and traffic re cession on the prime "Kangaroo route" to Europe are the main reasons for its continuing losses (Qantas lost £13-1 million in 1979-80). It estimates that fuel cost it about £165 million in the last year compared to £65 mil lion in 1978-79, and believes that its fuel bill this year will rise to £187-5 million. • Air New Zealand is launching a series of major service cuts in an attempt to save NZ$12 million to NZ$15 million (£5-4 million to £6-8 million) a year following a £14 mil lion net loss in 1980-81. The airline lost nearly £20 million on operations alone (three times its operational loss last year) but some of this was recovered by selling off fixed assets, by export tax rebates, and tourist pro motion incentives. The cuts will be made in both inter national and domestic services. Air New Zealand will cut its Hong Kong flights from two to one a week, and Boeing 747s will not be put on the Recently formed New Zealand carrier SkybusjAqua Avia Society has leased this Viscount from British Air Ferries along with one other. The aircraft is seen here at Southend before delivery at the end of September route as originally planned. Details of domestic service cuts are still to be announced, but they will result in one Fokker F.27 and one Boeing 737 becoming surplus to requirements, and the 737 at least will be sold. But the carrier is increasing its trans-Pacific 747 flights by two a week following a newly negotiated arrange ment with France to operate 747s, rather than DC-lOs to Tahiti. It is ex pected to renew its London service, dropped last year, when it receives more 747s. "9Q-CRY" appears in fraud case A LEBANESE Armenian called Sarkis Soghanalian has been charged with fraud in connection with the purpor ted use of Boeing 707 N711UT. The aircraft has also flown under the registration 9Q-CRY. Soghanalian was arrested in Switzerland on August 5, and when presented with an extradi tion warrant to the USA he decided not to contest it. He also faces a civil action for failure to deliver material under con tract. The fraud indictment was heard in the Miami court and Soghanalian was bailed for $550,000, and was per mitted to retain his passport. As yet there are no dates set for either the criminal or civil court actions. The aircraft involved achieved a certain notoriety by carrying out an unusual take-off from UK's Bristol Lulsgate Airport on October 11, 1979. The 707, painted with Zaire registra tion 9Q-CRY, lifted off from Lulsgate's runway overrun bound for Kuwait and Bombay. 982 FLIGHT International, 3 October 1981
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