Is It Safe To Fly?

The most dangerous part of your trip is the ground journey to the airport. However the risk now is higher than it was in 2020. 

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What's changed?

The ABS Australian Bureau of statistics all cause mortality has increased in 2021, this has been raised as a question by Senator Gerrard Rennick at Senate Estimates Hearings. The death rate in the population did not increase in 2020, but has increased in 2021 which coincidentally matched with the vaccine roll-out. This is the only environmental change facing Aussies, and needs to be investigated.

 

From an anecdotal perspective and through our airline connections, both private and professional flight crew medical events are higher than they were previously.

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There are significant safety signals that now needs urgent investigation from the Aviation Regulator, CASA. to confirm or deny what we are seeing. Prudence and being pro-active is the remit of the Safety regulator. Medical health of flight deck crew in particular protects passengers onboard and people on the ground.

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Pilot In-Flight Incapacitation Events

https://avherald.com/h?search_term=Incapacitation&opt=256&dosearch=1&search.x=30&search.y=18 

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Airport Tax - Right to Refund

Have you just missed your flight or had to cancel?

Maybe you think your ticket is 100% non-refundable but actually, you might be able to get some of your money back! We’re talking about the Air Passenger Duty refund, also known as airport tax refund or Passenger Movement Charge or even Airport Security Charge.

Even for a Non refundable ticket this charge if for processing a person through an airport. Most people let the airlines keep this, unaware airlines have no right to hold these funds.

Even if your ticket isn’t refundable, you can still get an Air Passenger Duty refund...

• if you don’t use your ticket because your flight is cancelled;

• if you cancel your ticket before the date of travel;

• if you miss your flight.

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Hearing about this for the first time? We will explain everything you need to know. Pursue your travel agent or airline.

Refund Passenger Movement Charge PMC

OMG! The Disruption!

that passengers are experiencing of late is unprecedented and completely avoidable.

Strikes and More Strikes

As of August, Aircraft engineers and baggage handlers have voted for PIA - Protected Industrial Action - Pilots are being balloted for action because of an impasse in contract negotiations. The company using the hard luck story of devastating losses over the pandemic are vying for sympathy, this doesn't get much traction because corporate finances can easily be restructured and assets can be written down and offset.

The Qantas management, emboldened by their manipulation and coercion of staff over the imposition of the company vaccine mandate, know that if staff are unorganised, have no solidarity and have weak bargaining position. Pilots are now attempting to hold strong. By all indications there will be wide support for strike action. Our advice, drive or stay home. If you must travel by air take a swag, a pillow and some snacks.

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Where's All the Staff?

As part of the pandemic recovery, Airlines have outsourced much of the ground servicing handling and negotiated some pretty low profit deals from the suppliers. Some of the ground handling contract companies are also severely understaffed - they can only do what they can do. Any delay in an airline schedule can have a cascading effect on the entire days flying for a particular aircraft. Airlines have slashed workforces with redundancies, early retirement, resignations, reductions in working hours, and terminations from non-compliant staff regarding mandates. Add to that many sectors within these businesses are in EBA contract negotiations - with airline management trying to play hard-ball and squeeze the staff to breaking point, knowing the stress the workers are already under. Morale within Qantas, Jetstar, and Virgin is at the lowest levels in Australian aviation history. A perfect storm you could say - this has materialised in unprecedented disruption, incredible delays, and vast numbers of successive cancellations.

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Fly - Not Today

When the planes are flying, an Airbus A320 typically in the Jetstar Network can perform 8 flights (sectors) per day, throw just one of these out and everything gets pushed back. Factors affecting this domino sequence can be crewing availability, engineering, loading, and weather. However, in 2022 we have some factors never experienced before.

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The Pandemic we are all still living through - Qantas, Jetstar, Virgin, and Alliance all mandated staff take the injections by November 15th, 2021. Many staff willingly and enthusiastically complied, many were indifferent and a number felt coerced and bullied by the threat of termination. This however has landed them in Federal Court for breaching employee rights and discrimination. Court Action.

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Incidentally - Australian airlines only represented a few airlines worldwide that had hard mandates for all staff which included the booster.

 

Over Promise - Under Deliver

Again as part of the pandemic recovery the Airline Management put more planes in service and sold more tickets than would have been prudent simply because schedules were already stretched, and staff numbers were tight, staff were working long hours, many doing lots of overtime, the government had added a financial incentive to go sick, all you had to do was test positive with a RAT test and bingo, get 7 days off, later reduced to 5 days. Thats it, so staff from all areas - tired, angry, feeling a little off, get a positive RAT, to guarantee a positive, add a little orange juice or coke - and there's your positive result, without any comeback, the Great Australian Sickie.

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On July 1st this financial incentive is removed so schedules may have a small window to recover. Don't get too excited. for more on this fluid unacceptable situation join our mailing list and substack below.

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Stay Informed and Up to Date

Get fast responses tweet at us and tag Twitter @AussieFlyers

 

Passengers that are interested in what is going on from an unbiased position. See our Global Aviation Coalition clips and join

our free newsletter.

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Newsletter > https://gaacoalition.substack.com/

Videos > Air Travel Fit and Safe to Fly?

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