Jetstar will bin 108 flights across the country this weekend as pilots prepare to strike, strike, strike over stalled wage negotiations.
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Jetstar reckons around 80 per cent of its flights will go ahead as scheduled, with the airline scrambling to re-time and re-accomodate flights using larger aircrafts and ol’ mate Qantas.
“Overall, Jetstar will cancel 44 services on Saturday 14 December and 46 services on Sunday 15 December,” Jetstar boss Gareth Evans said in a statement today.
“We expect to get 95 per cent of our customers on their way on the same day.
“Any customers travelling from 13 December to 20 December can also request a full refund prior to flying.”
If you’re wondering about the refund, the airline will sort that for you if your flight is cancelled or delayed by more than three hours. You’ll be offered the choice of an alternative flight or a refund. Jetstar will also offer customers accomodation and meals, to a specified price, if you’re away from home and need a place to crash overnight. The airline has set up a travel alert to keep customers in the loop. You can find it right here.
In short, the Australian Federation of Pilots (AFAP) are striking over pay and working conditions at Jetstar. Unsurprisingly, Evans called the strike “unjustifiable and cynically timed”.
But AFAP Executive Director Simon Lutton said the decision to take action was not made “lightly”.
“Jetstar pilots and the AFAP ensure that industrial action will not be taken over Christmas to New Year to protect this holiday period for the travelling public,” he said in a statement on Monday.
“We are hoping to resume discussions with the company to reach an agreement so that no further action needs to be taken after this period.”
On top of the strike, 250 Jetstar baggage handlers and ground crew will walk off the job on Friday at Melbourne Tullamarine, Melbourne Avalon, Sydney, Brisbane, Cairns, and Adelaide airports in protest of low rates and poor treatment. According to the ABC, 18 flights will be cancelled as a result.
