KOREAN Air
Lines
had to cancel nearly 150 passenger and cargo flights last week
due to a pilot strike which began last Thursday, according to a customer
advisory notice from the airline.
About
180
unionised Korean Air pilots began a 10-day strike on December 22,
causing the country's largest airline to cancel 148 flights, including 12 cargo
flights, on domestic and international routes.
The
Korean Air Pilots Union has been in negotiations with the company for over a
year, reportedly seeking a 29 per cent pay increase instead of the 1.9
per cent raise proposed by management, but talks broke down recently,
leading to the strike action, American Shipper reported.
"A
strike is not our end goal. But the company's proposal for a pay raise is too
little for us to accept," a union leader said, according to a report in
the Wall Street Journal.
The
walkout is the union's first since December 2005, when Korean Air was forced to cancel
more than 1,000 flights and lost more than KWR200 billion (US$167 million) in
just four days, according to the Korea Times.
Despite
the strike, the airline said it will maintain an operation rate of 97 per cent
for international flights, 90 per cent for flights to Jeju and 72 per cent for
other domestic flights. Disrupted international routes include those from
Incheon to Japan, Hong Kong, China, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia.
Passengers
and cargo owners who booked space on the cancelled flights will be offered
alternatives or receive refunds, the airline said.
Source
: HKSG.
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