Pilot complement dictated by restricting plan – Air Malta

A meeting between pilots' union ALPA and Air Malta management yesterday turned out to be "inconclusive", according to a statement by the union, which will be proceeding with a dress-down directive for its members.

As from today, Air Malta pilots will report for work without jacket, cap and tie. "This [action] will not have any adverse impact on the passengers during the peak season but is a sign of protest on the current situation," the union said.

ALPA is not excluding the possibility of any further action, claiming that issues registered in a dispute last week and other pending matters have not yet been resolved. "Air Malta insisted that it needs more time to solve such issues," ALPA said.

Yesterday, Air Malta dismissed claims from ALPA members that shortages in pilot complement may have informed the cancellation of approved leave for the month of September.

The national airline was accused of having reduced crew complement by 16 pilots by ALPA, leading to pilots working on an "excessive amount" of off-days, the union said.

But Air Malta, which is bound by a restructuring plan approved by the European Commission to return to profitability, said its pilot complement of 110 is based on the airline's ASKs (available seat kilometres), an industry measure that computes the total flight passenger capacity of an airline in kilometres, which Air Malta can operate to meet the requirements of the restructuring plan.

To meet this requirement, at the end of 2012 Air Malta encouraged pilots to avail themselves of a one-off voluntary early retirement scheme for pilots aged over 50 with at least 20 years' service.

The retirement scheme followed the return of an Airbus A320 that the airline had leased to Polish low-cost airline OLT Express, after the latter suspended all chartered flights due to financial turmoil. Air Malta had also supplied 10 of its pilots to OLT.

"In the last collective agreement negotiations between Air Malta and ALPA, the two parties agreed that the early retirement scheme that has been available to pilots for a significant number of years, was used as a basis to bring the number of pilots down to the required levels. The number of pilots that was permitted to take up this ERS was at the sole discretion of the company and was determined by the number of pilots required to operate the Air Malta flight schedule in line with the required ASKs," the airline said in a comment.

The €4 million retirement scheme was taken up by 12 pilots and three management pilots. Another pilot was seconded to Qatar Airways.

"Air Malta is resolute to continue meeting the requirements of its restructuring plan because failure is not an option. The airline is committed to continue pushing forward its transformation into a profitable airline that contributes positively to the economy of Malta," the airline added.

ALPA has instructed its members on a symbolic dress-down after it registered an industrial dispute last week, demanding an urgent meeting with management over the cancellation of approved leave and requested leave.

"During these summer months ALPA members have been demonstrating a lot of flexibility for day-to-day operations not to be affected in any way. However, ALPA will not limit itself to any further action if deemed necessary," the union said in a statement.

ALPA insists the cancellation of leave is in breach of its negotiated agreements with the airline. "Several attempts have been made by ALPA to protect its members and their rights as expressly mentioned in the collective agreement, however procrastination from Air Malta's management led ALPA with no other option than to file this dispute," the union said.

ALPA maintains that the crew shortage was "most probably the reason" why pilots were denied approved leave slots for the months of August and September, which the union says is a breach of the collective agreement it has with the airline.