Bloopers from Air New Zealand's 'Bare Essentials of Safety' video

And now we have the rest of the story:

Here are some of the bloopers that didn't make the cut for Air New Zealand's new 'Bare Essentials of Safety' video, where five ANZ staff perform a safety briefing wearing nothing but body paint.



If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Passengers surely will pay attention to this new Air New Zealand safety demo

Air New Zealand has found a unique way to get passengers to pay attention to pre-flight safety briefings. In this new video, aptly called the Bare Essentials of Safety, Air New Zealand staff wear only body paint while demonstrating the safety features of the airline's Boeing 737 aircraft.



If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

Poppy the Starling, rescued and raised by a flight attendant, now stars on YouTube

About five years ago, a baby starling fell from its nest atop a jetbridge at DFW airport. A flight attendant, Lisa, found the little creature, rescued him, and -- after keeping him with her on her three day trip -- took him home to raise.

The little bird, called Poppy, grew up to be a very tame, very talented little guy. Here is Poppy's story -- and just wait until you get to the part about his musical abilities. This bird's repertoire ranges from Mozart to -- wait for it -- whistling Dixie! (Yes, really!)



If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

P.S. Poppy has his own website, poppythebird.com, and Facebook page. Poppy can Tweet as well as sing, of course, so you also can find Poppy on Twitter.

Lisa, the flight attendant who raised him, wrote and illustrated a children's picture book about Poppy. The book has not yet been published, but you can page through it on Poppy's website.

The Details: New round of furloughs for United Airlines flight attendants

A new round of furloughs was announced today for United Airlines flight attendants. The airline notified the flight attendants' union, the Association of Flight Attendants (AFA), that it needs to have a total of 2,150 Flight Attendants on furlough status by the end of the summer.

The airline cited "current staffing levels, a lower than projected attrition rate, the continued retirement of the 737 fleet as planned, along with reconfiguration of the TED and IPTE aircraft" as reasons for a further reduction of its flight attendant work force.

According to the terms of AFA's current contract with United Airlines, management must first offer voluntary furloughs to offset and potentially eliminate any involuntary furloughs. If there are insufficient volunteers for furlough, flight attendants may bid on Partnership Flying prior to the company imposing an involuntary furlough.

The new voluntary furloughs offered by United will begin on August 31, 2009 for periods of 10 to 30 months. Flight attendants who accept voluntary furlough will accrue seniority, maintain the same medical and on-line travel benefits as active employees and be returned to the domicile from which they began the furlough, according to AFA.

United flight attendants currently on voluntary furlough will be recalled, and must rebid for a new voluntary furlough. The new voluntary furlough bidding begins tomorrow, June 23, 2009 and closes on the morning of July 17, 2009. Should an insufficient number bid for the voluntary furloughs, the most junior of United's flight attendants may be subject to involuntary furlough.

United Airlines already cut its flight attendant work force by 1,550 in late 2008 through a combination of voluntary furloughs and an Early Out program offered to senior crew members. Several months later, the airline notified the union to expect 250 more furloughs in January of 2009, but it turned out that no furloughs were necessary at that point.

British Airways looks to cut 2,000 cabin crew jobs

British Airways (BA) is seeking to cut its cabin crew workforce by 2,000 as a cost-cutting measure. The airline is said to be in dire financial straits, having recently reported its largest ever operating loss: £401 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2009.

According to The Times, BA told its 14,000 cabin crew last week that it was "looking for the equivalent of 2,000 voluntary redundancies and if these cuts cannot be achieved, the losses could become compulsory." Unite, the cabin crew union is expected to reject the proposal.

The Times article says:

BA has put 32 money-saving proposals to its cabin crew, including cutting annual leave from 36 days to 34. It also wants a two-year pay freeze and a big reduction in the allowances paid to crew who fly longhaul.

There is also speculation that BA may seek to close its final salary pension scheme as its deficit grows. The deficit is thought to have nearly doubled to £3 billion, which is more than the market capitalisation of the airline.

The Wall Street Journal, reporting on the same issue, says that BA is attempting to permanently restructure working practices, including eliminating restrictive practices, to improve productivity and reduce its cost base. The cabin crew union is opposed to permanent changes to pay and work rules.

Unite is currently in negotiations with BA management. The airline has set June 30 as the date by which new terms must be settled. There are fears that if the two sides do not reach an agreement by then, Unite will call a strike.

EasyJet employee receives award for cabin crew uniform re-design

The easyJet employee who was responsible for overhauling the cabin crew uniforms introduced at the airline in 2007 has won an award for her efforts. Tina Milton, who is head of cabin services at easyJet, won the award in the 'corporatewear' section at the Workwear and Corporate Clothing Show in Birmingham, UK.

Prior to 2007, easyJet cabin crew wore black pants and orange polo shirt outfits. Currently, crew members can select from among a number of different pieces such as orange or white shirts, jackets or waistcoats, and mix and match the pieces to suit their own style and comfort needs. Ms. Milton is credited with planning, designing and distributing the new uniform for 3,500 easyJet cabin crew at 17 bases across six countries in 2007.

Designer Jeff Banks presented Tina Milton with her award at what has been described as 'a glittering ceremony' at the Hilton Metropole Hotel in Birmingham.

For more photos of the new easyJet uniforms, visit the easyJet Photo Gallery on the company's website.

[Photo Source]

Southwest Airlines flight attendants ratify four-year contract

Southwest Airlines flight attendants have ratified the tentative contract agreement that was reached in March of this year. The new contract covers a four year period, through May 31, 2012.

Thom McDaniel, president of Local 556 of the Transport Workers Union, which represents Southwest's flight attendants, announced on the union's website that 5,693 of the 9,770 eligible flight attendants voted. Of those, 5,308 (89.06%) voted in favor of the contract, while only 652 (10.94%) voted no.

Here is part of Thom McDaniel's message to the TWU Local 556 membership about the contract:

Over the next few months as we enjoy the improvements in our new Agreement and yes, spend those retro checks, it is important to remember that we would have never made it to this point so quickly without an informed and involved Membership. Of course many of us remember the 2004 Contract Campaign, and many others have heard us wax nostalgic about that valiant effort that brought us a truly industry-leading Contract in the face of insurmountable odds.

Remember that although this campaign was not as long or as contentious, it is historic in its own right. During this round of bargaining, we were in the middle of an economic downturn in our country and industry that I hope we never repeat. During this round of bargaining, contractually, we were at the top of the industry in every area. During this round of bargaining, many of our Members had never experienced multiple pay scales that left our group divided and okay, a little angry.

A few things, however, have not changed since the last round of bargaining. We are still the best and most productive Flight Attendants in the industry. We still contribute to the ongoing success of Southwest Airlines and we still deserve fair wages, work rules, and retirement. Most importantly, we still know how to stand united for a fair Contract and I hope that will never change.

This Contract like all Contracts is not perfect. We did not get everything we wanted; however, we were able to make significant gains in many areas. During our informational meetings, we were sometimes asked why we did not fight for certain things. I can promise you, we did. The list of things we tried to get for our Members included a few items we really hated to withdraw. At the end of the process and considering our industry leading status and the daunting economic challenges, we had to prioritize what was most important and of course our Negotiating Team stood strong and prevailed against any economic concessions or minimum flying requirement. That being said, you can be sure that our Union will continue to work with Southwest Airlines to improve our quality of life even outside of negotiations.

The rest of McDaniel's message is posted on the TWU Local 556 website.

Video: Southwest Airlines emergency evacuation on Houston runway

Yesterday a Southwest Airlines aircraft was evacuated on the runway at Houston Hobby Airport (HOU) after a a tire on the right main landing gear caught fire on landing. The Boeing 737 aircraft, operating as Southwest Flight 519, was arriving at Houston from New Orleans at the time of the incident.

Below is a video of the landing roll-out and evacuation. What I want to know is, who is the knucklehead that sends his briefcase down the slide before him at about 0:55 into the video? Note that the briefcase opens, papers spill out, and then the guy tries to retrieve the papers and stuff them back into the briefcase at the foot of the slide!

Someone did NOT follow the flight attendants' instructions. All together now: "Dude, you're doin' it WRONG!!"

Fortunately, no injuries were reported among the five crew members and 47 passengers on board. The fire was extinguished on the runway.



If the video does not play or display properly above, click here to view it on YouTube.

A longer version of the video can be viewed here.

Zeal 320 flight attendants strike for pay parity with Air New Zealand cabin crew

The flight attendants of Zeal 320 Ltd., a subsidiary of Air New Zealand, are staging a four-day strike because they are paid "tens of thousands of dollars a year less" than other cabin crew performing the identical duties. Zeal cabin crew want pay parity with flight attendants working directly for Air New Zealand.

The strike by Zeal's 240 flight attendants and will affect Trans-Tasman and Pacific flights serviced by Air New Zealand's Airbus A320 fleet.

The flight attendants' union, the Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing Union (EPMU), are holding demonstrations in several cities around New Zealand, and also took out full-page advertisements in New Zealand's largest newspapers to explain to the public what they see as an injustice. The strike was called after months of negotiations between the airline and the flight attendants' union failed to resolve the pay dispute.

"The decision to strike was not taken lightly by our members but they have been negotiating for seven months and the company is still offering them terms and conditions that are tens of thousands of dollars less than crew employed directly by Air New Zealand," said EPMU national secretary Andrew Little.

"The only people who are employed by Zeal 320 are these flight attendants because the company exists solely to exclude them from the terms and conditions other crew enjoy. Even their managers are directly employed by Air New Zealand," Little explained.

"It's an unethical use of corporate legal structures to deprive these workers of decent conditions and the flight crew are quite rightly taking this action in an attempt to level the playing field."

Air New Zealand has countered these claims, saying that Zeal crew receive pay rates starting at more than $40,000, that the union has refused to negotiate and that they are claiming parity with international crew.

The EPMU says that the parent company's claims that Zeal's flight attendants are seeking pay parity with international crews "is a blatant lie."

EPMU secretary Little said, "This whole line of argument from Air New Zealand is an obvious attempt to divert from the real issue, which is that these workers are paid thousands less despite doing the same work, wearing the same uniforms and flying to the same destinations as crew employed directly by Air New Zealand."

Zeal flight attendant Stephanie Jeeves added, "We've done the same job as other Air New Zealand crew for years and been paid thousands of dollars less than domestic, let alone international, and to now have the company misrepresenting our pay rates is a slap in the face.

"If Air New Zealand want to offer us the domestic deal we'll take it, I'd like to see them put their money where their mouth is."

[Photo Source]

Swine Flu (H1N1): Information for Flight Attendants

Yesterday I was speaking with a flight attendant about the current outbreak of Swine Flu (H1N1). "The news is so scary, I don't know what to think," she said. "Should I be afraid to go to work or not?"

"No," I told her. "You needn't be afraid to go to work, but you should learn the facts about the disease, and understand what to do to lessen your chances of becoming infected."

It does seem like the swine flu outbreak came out of nowhere and just exploded onto the scene. There are so many rumors circulating, it's no wonder people are scared. The news media jumped on the story quickly, and although they have reported some factual information, they also have fanned the flames of fear -- sometimes by their choice of words, and sometimes by feeding the rumor mill instead of sticking to known facts.

Don't panic. Mixed in among the mass of rumor and hype, there is some good, solid, reliable information -- you just have to know where to look for it.

Here are some good places to start. (Each of these items will open in a new page or tab when you click.)

Background information about Swine Flu (H1N1)

• Key Facts about Swine Influenza - U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC).


• Swine Influenza (Flu) - CDC, Daily updates


• Swine influenza - World Health Organization (WHO), updated regularly


• PandemicFlu.gov - The official U.S. government Web site for information on pandemic flu (including swine flu)

Travel and Aviation-specific Swine Flu Information

• Swine Flu: What flight attendants need to know - AFA-CWA, April 2009
  


• Interim Guidance to Assist Airline Flight Deck and Cabin Crew in Identifying Passengers Who May Have Swine Influenza - CDC, April 2009


• Interim Guidance for Airlines Regarding Flight Crews Arriving from Domestic and International Areas Affected by Swine Influenza - CDC, April 2009


• Safety Alert for Operators (SAFO): Swine Flu H1N1 Information - FAA, April 2009 [PDF format]


• PandemicFlu.gov - Section on Travel & Transportation - U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services


• Frequently asked questions – Swine Influenza and Air Travel - IATA, April 2009 [PDF format]


• Suspected Communicable Diease: Guidelines for Cabin Crew - IATA, December 2008 [PDF format]

If and when new information from truly reliable sources becomes available, I will add it to this page.

In addition, there is a News & Info About H1N1 Swine Flu page on the AircrewHealth.com website, updated daily.

If you are on Twitter, you can keep abreast of new developments by following @CDCemergency. You can also follow the AircrewHealth.com health news Twitter feed @Twellness. No rumors. No hype. Just facts and links to news you need to know in order to make informed decisions for yourself and those you care about.

---

UPDATE May 1, 2009: Here is something useful. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has published a document listing 500 Antimicrobial Products Registered for Use Against Influenza A Virus on Hard Surfaces (17-page PDF).

These include disinfectant solutions and foams, as well as single-use wipes. You might want to check it out and see if the ones you use on aircraft, and pack with you to use on your layovers, are on the list. There is a page on the EPA website that explains.