Finnair back in the air

Finnair was scheduled to resume "a little less than half" of its flight program today after pilots represented by the Finnish Airline Pilots' Assn. agreed to a settlement proposal submitted yesterday by a government mediator. AY was forced to cancel two full days of flying after pilots went on strike late Sunday/early Monday (ATWOnline, Nov. 17). "In addition to structural changes, we achieved through this agreement significant short-term cost savings. It has been agreed that, in addition to the 5% wage reductions, we will together pursue a 13% cut in unit costs," Finnair Senior VP-Human Resources Anssi Komulainen said, calling the settlement a "compromise solution" that included a new provision stipulating one year of redundancy protection. Deal expires on Oct. 31, 2011. AY expects to operate 75% of its schedule Thursday and the entirety Friday. It canceled more than 500 flights.

Originally published 18 Nov 2009 at: http://feeds.atwonline.com/~r/AtwDailyNews/~3/ZT4x4uN6W10/story.html