Union says New Zealand staff on Qantas New York flight getting a raw deal over rest, airline fights back

An Australian union says New Zealand-based cabin crew on some ultra-long haul Qantas flights are getting shorter rest breaks than crew flying out of Australia.

New Zealand-based crew are staffing the new Qantas Auckland-New York non-stop flight and some other long-haul routes.

Flight Attendants Association of Australia industrial relations manager Steven Reed said the union was “incredibly disappointed” when the New Zealand crew opened up their existing agreement and voted to accept rest provisions less than the Australian crew.

He told the Herald it flies in the face of fatigue concerns around the appropriate rest cabin crew should be receiving.

Flight attendants on the New York flight are mainly Kiwis and have two nights on the ground in New York after their flights which are in the air for about 16 hours. There are normally 10 flight attendants on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner which is used on the route.

The four pilots who operate the route are based in Australia.

“Qantas is not taking cabin crew concerns around fatigue seriously. Various committees and policies are no substitute for proper rest,” said Reed. He echoed a push by unions in this country submitting on changes to the Civil Aviation Act that governments should regulate flying hours, not something that should be negotiated by cabin crew.

He said it was part of a push to drive down wages. Unions in this country accused Air New Zealand of doing the same when it opened a base for cabin crew in Shanghai.

Reed said: “Rest for cabin crew on ultra-long-haul flights both away and at home base should be taken seriously by airlines and regulatory authorities.”

Qantas says safety is its number one priority and its fatigue risk management programme manages fatigue for cabin crew and this has not changed.

“Our NZ crew have always been able to do this [ultra-long-haul] flying and the recent changes to their agreement provide for just over two days and nights of scheduled rest in New York before their return flight to Auckland, which is more than double the minimum rest originally required as part of their agreement,” said a spokesperson.

The airline has partnered with the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre to study fatigue and minimise it on or following ultra-long-haul flights which could from 2025 stretch over 20 hours.

“Parallel research has been done to manage crew wellbeing on these flights which also draws on experience from other ultra-long-haul flights operated by Qantas,” chief executive Alan Joyce said today.

Grant Bradley has been working at the Herald since 1993. He is the Business Herald’s deputy editor and covers aviation and tourism.

* The Herald travelled to New York courtesy of Qantas