Australia's Jetstar Denies Exploiting Thai Staff

[F4UCorsair]

Electau said, "With long shifts they can be problems with fatigue, which can and has caused accidents."

I don't believe that fatigued flight attendants ever caused an accident. They may not have been much help after the accident though. Fatigue in flight crew has caused accidents and that's why Civil Aviation Order 48 dictates flight and duty times. CAO 48 does not cover FA's, but there may be another provision in the CAO's of which I'm not aware. As far as I know, duty times for flight attendants are part of industrial agreements and not law.

Traditionally FA's have not performed well in full blown emergencies, even when not fatigued.

[fritter1970]

An 'Aussie trained 30 year veteran' at the front gives you more confidence does he? Do they even have pilot training facilities in Oz?

Huh? Your asking if the richest country on planet earth has pilot training facilities? Ummm, you ever heard of an Australian jet airliner crashing..... ever? It is the ONLY country to never have had a fatal jet airliner crash....

As for the topic:

1. Am I the only one to think that these Thai cabin crew are earning a bloody FORTUNE compared to EVERY Thai worker I know of, so what gives, what the hell is the problem here?

2. Lets be honest, as long as the pilots are NOT Thai and ARE Australian then there is no need to be concerned about safety....

[electau]

Electau said, "With long shifts they can be problems with fatigue, which can and has caused accidents."

I don't believe that fatigued flight attendants ever caused an accident. They may not have been much help after the accident though. Fatigue in flight crew has caused accidents and that's why Civil Aviation Order 48 dictates flight and duty times. CAO 48 does not cover FA's, but there may be another provision in the CAO's of which I'm not aware. As far as I know, duty times for flight attendants are part of industrial agreements and not law.

Traditionally FA's have not performed well in full blown emergencies, even when not fatigued.

An accident could be an injury to themselves or to a passenger due to fatiguel from long shift times..It could mean that cabin flight procedures are compromised.

That is why airlines have safety management procedures and carry out risk analysis. Airlines have a "duty of care" responsibility to their staff and passengers at all times.

[sfbandung]

Forcing companies to pay more simply doesn't work. There is a minimum wage set by government and from there let market forces prevail.

My sister in law earns 6,000bt a month working in a factory in BKK. She would be overjoyed to get a job at Jetstar working as a flight attendant. The fact is those jobs are virtually impossible for the average Thai to get. Comparing it to Australian wages is utterly ridiculous, like comparing Apples to Fillet steak. Anyone who commutes regularly between the two countries, as I do, will tell you the cost of living (not to mention real estate values) is many, many times higher.

It would be interesting to know how many applications a day Jetstar gets from people who'd desperately love a job there. And the existing staff aren't exactly resigning in droves.

[nonresident]

Electau said, "With long shifts they can be problems with fatigue, which can and has caused accidents."

I don't believe that fatigued flight attendants ever caused an accident. They may not have been much help after the accident though. Fatigue in flight crew has caused accidents and that's why Civil Aviation Order 48 dictates flight and duty times. CAO 48 does not cover FA's, but there may be another provision in the CAO's of which I'm not aware. As far as I know, duty times for flight attendants are part of industrial agreements and not law.

Traditionally FA's have not performed well in full blown emergencies, even when not fatigued.

FYI CAO48 also covers FAs last time I looked.

As for those who want to ridicule trolley dollies, fair enough but it doesnt gel with the Emergency Procedures training I've done jointly with pilots and FAs, where the FAs are required to have a thorough knowledge of safety equipment locations and the use of them. At the risk of repeating myself; nobody performs well past a dozen or so hours on deck. 20 hours is absurd.

An insidious feature of crew fatique is that one can get proper rest before duty BUT (in the case of FAs) after physical activity breathing air equivalent to around 7,000 above sea level for an extended period, one cannot go to the captain and say "I can no longer perform my duties due to fatique". The captain would then be obliged to terminate the flight/series of flights forthwith.

I understand that the Safety Management System of an airline is subject to the approval of the state. How did Jetstar get theirs approved in Thailand?