Pilots demoted for refusing to fly
Dragonair initially sacked men who declined to take delayed jet on day off but got free seats to HK
Two senior Dragonair pilots have been demoted after they refused to take the controls of a delayed flight from Japan because the return leg of the journey fell on their day off.
Dragonair had to fly a replacement cockpit crew from Hong Kong to bring the plane and its passengers back to Chek Lap Kok after a snowstorm forced it to divert from Asahikawa to Tokyo. The pilots and passengers spent the night in Tokyo.
Because the next morning was a rostered day off for both men, the two captains - an Australian and a Canadian - refused to fly the Airbus and instead claimed free seats in business class while their stand-ins piloted the flight.
Their action on February 14 is understood to have further delayed the plane as the emergency arrangements were made for a replacement crew.
Dragonair initially sacked the two pilots, but appeal hearings which ended on Thursday reduced the penalties for the men to loss of rank.
The Australian was demoted from senior to junior captain while the Canadian pilot was demoted from senior pilot to first officer, meaning substantial pay cuts. Both men insisted at their appeals that they were legally entitled to their guaranteed days off.
The incident comes as Dragonair pilots are in a contract compliance dispute over pay and rostering issues, and appears to indicate the depth of feeling among some cockpit crew.
But one Dragonair pilot told the Sunday Morning Post: 'These two captains appear to have taken a decision to be particularly bloody-minded. Even in the middle of a dispute you don't just abandon your command when you're down route. They're lucky the passengers made to wait for a new crew to arrive didn't know they were sitting with their feet up in business class on the flight home. They're also lucky to have kept their jobs at all.'
But another pilot said many colleagues were 'at the end of their tether' over working conditions at Dragonair. 'Some are doing five or six takeoffs and landings a day and they are constantly being called to work on days off,' he said.
It is understood pilots have refused to fly until they take advice from the Dragonair Pilots' Association, which has told its 300-plus members - 85 per cent of pilots - to work to their contracts.
The association said it had been forced into the work to rule by the company's refusal to address their concerns.
Dragonair initially refused to discuss the February incident or to explain why it allowed the pilots to claim seats in business class. 'Staff disciplinary proceedings are an internal matter,' the airline said in a statement.
It issued a second statement saying: 'Dragonair very much regrets the inconvenience caused to the passengers on this service. Our staff in Japan did all they could to minimise the inconvenience.'
Natalie Cooke, general manger of the pilots' association, which represented the pilots at the disciplinary hearings, refused to answer questions about the pilots' actions and whether the association approved of what they had done.
