Air New Zealand has confirmed that cabin crew will go on strike from 11-13 February, following notice from unions E tū and the Flight Attendants’ Association of New Zealand (FAANZ).
FAANZ president Craig Featherby said in a statement that cabin crews had reached “breaking point” and that Air New Zealand was failing to prioritise both its staff and customers.
“Flights are repeatedly impacted by preventable issues: lack of catering and limited choice, missing equipment to effectively look after customers, inoperative seats, and broken cabin features, alongside higher-than-usual cancellations,” he said.
“Flight attendants, as the face of the airline, are constantly having to work around these issues and apologise to passengers who have paid premium fares to fly with the national carrier.
“The company is sending a clear message to those who represent its frontline – that they are undervalued, despite carrying the weight of the operation every day,” he said.
He said frontline staff needed “real investment” and that the airline was asking flight attendants to give up “hard-earned terms and conditions” in exchange for any meaningful improvement in pay.
The pay offer put to staff would see crews just hit the living wage, he said with staff worried that with inflation, they would be back below that within a short time.
Air New Zealand said it remains committed to working with the unions to reach a fair outcome that recognised the contributions of their crew, while balancing a “challenging” economic environment.
