The airline previously embarked on a large recruitment drive for overseas cabin crew in a bid to cut labour costs and dilute the influence unions have over its 35,000-strong workforce.

But Qantas has ended its contract with the company that employed 123 Thai nationals to work as cabin crew on the airline’s international flights.

The Flight Attendant’s Association of Australia said today that the closure was a stark reminder of the job insecurity faced by long-haul cabin crew.

Qantas has so far resisted cutting cabin crew from its Australian-based workforce, although measures such as leave-without-pay have been introduced. The airline’s international operations are losing money, particularly on the key routes to the US and Europe.

The airline and union struck an agreement several years ago not to have more than 25 per cent of international cabin crew made up of foreign nationals. Qantas employs a total of about 4500 international flight attendants.

The union has a longstanding opposition to the offshoring of long-haul cabin crew jobs.

“I wish to reiterate that this announcement of the closure of Bangkok, further demonstrates the serious job security situation for long-haul crew,” the union’s secretary of the international division, Michael Mijatov, wrote in a letter to members.

“This announcement by Qantas should demonstrate to even those that are most sceptical amongst us, that the current situation facing us is serious.”

Qantas also has long-haul cabin crew bases in London and Auckland. Crews based in New Zealand’s largest city typically work 30 per cent more hours on half the base pay of their Australian counterparts.

Having already laid off up to 3250 workers in the past 18 months, Qantas last week announced $1.5 billion in spending cuts over three years, including $500 million this financial year. It follows $3 billion in cuts over the previous five years.

Qantas also recorded last week its first half-year loss in six years as it suffered from big falls in demand for premium seats on international routes.

The airline has been pulling almost every lever to cope with a dire short-term outlook, including grounding planes, delaying and cancelling deliveries of new aircraft, and raising $500 million from investors to keep its investment-grade rating.

The 56-year-old, whose position involves duties such as managing the cabin and flight paperwork, said the hours were accumulated during his 32 years in the industry. By 1999 Park had spent 20,000 hours on board and by 2004 he had reached 25,000 hours.

The secret to his time on board was keeping “a positive and friendly attitude,” Park said, but also prioritizing customer service through human relationships.

“I feel it is the most rewarding when I do my best to serve the passengers with an upbeat attitude, and they appreciate my work,” Park said.

With decades of experience, the purser has watched the flight industry develop before him.

“For example, since this past June Korean Air has been offering the best equipment on the B777-300ers,” Park said. The airline now also offers traditional Korean food for in-flight meals, including the national dish bibim-bap.

Not only have there been advances in technology and amenities, but there have also been cultural changes within the stewardess personnel, Park noted.

“The average height of stewardesses has grown and their appearances have become more Westernized,” he said. “The uniforms have also changed six times since I’ve begun working.”

Health must be well-maintained to prepare for long travel hours, said the purser. Particularly given the fact that typical medical care is not available while thousands of miles in the air.

“It is particularly important to overcome the differences (in resources),” Park said. He added that there are measures to help prevent ill health, including drinking plenty of water, getting enough rest and exercising when possible.

Park will retire in September, concluding his career with the South Korean record under his belt. In his last month Park said he wants to have one last perfect flight, free of any mistakes or regrets.

“That way, I think I’ll remain in my employees’ memories for a long time,” he said. But Park plans to continue living a life full of activities and goodwill.

“After I retire I want to exercise a lot and learn to play the saxophone that I first picked up four years ago,” Park said. “Another thing is that I would like to do volunteer work so that I can live my life on behalf of others.”

The Star Alliance carrier says its subsidiary Zeal 320 has reached an agreement with the Engineering, Printing & Manufacturing Union that represents the A320 cabin crew that work for Zeal 320.

Zeal 320 is a company that employs many of the ANZ A320 cabin crew. These cabin attendants had been lobbying for their wages and conditions to be on par with A320 cabin crew employed directly by the airline.

A new collective employment agreement has been agreed to, says ANZ, which declines to comment further.

The national carrier says a new collective agreement is being presented to flight attendants for ratification.

The cabin crew is employed by the airline’s subsidiary, Zeal 320. Workers argued they were paid less than crew working for Air New Zealand.

The sometimes bitter dispute has dragged on since October last year and involved staff taking industrial action.

In an attention-grabbing stunt, 10 cabin crew were suspended for wearing feather boas, lace gloves and pink wigs on flights – which is against the company dress code.

Details of the agreement is not known and neither side is talking until the ratification process finishes at the end of next week.

The new rules go into effect in December.

Attendants passed out fans with the size limits and showed passengers the maximum dimensions and weight of carry-on baggage.

Each airline currently applies different baggage rules for different aircraft, which has confused passengers who use different types of planes for outbound and return trips.

Under the new common regulations that will be shared by 17 carriers, carry-on bags must weigh no more than 10 kg and be no more than 45 cm tall, 20 cm wide and 35 cm deep for a plane with less than 100 seats. For larger aircraft, the dimensions are 55 × 25 × 40 cm.

Carriers covered by the new rules include Japan Airlines Corp., All Nippon Airways Co., Air Do, Skynet Asia Airways and Skymark Airlines Inc.

“If the regulations are unified, it will promote smooth boarding and airplanes can depart on time. As a result, it will benefit passengers, too,” a JAL spokesman said.

Emirates have been making several regular cabin crew recruitments since it started service to Addis Abeba in March 2006. Out of the total 160 applicants in November 2008 at the Hilton Addis, only nine of them passed the selection process on the final day.

The new recruits will have six weeks intensive training at the Emirates Aviation College in Dubai in facilities including emergency training simulators and full-scale aircrafts mock-ups.

Currently, there are 54 Ethiopian cabin crewmembers already working with Emirates. With the additional nine, the number of Ethiopians at the Gulf state’s airline will go up to 63. Emirates recruited globally; 10,000 cabin crew from 120 countries, particularly in areas on passenger route network.

“Emirates cabin crews have the opportunity to visit over 100 destinations around the world and experience some of the world’s most advanced aircrafts,” Sudhir Sreedharan, Emirates’ area manager for Ethiopia said. “Our recruitment drives also give us an opportunity to contribute and give back to the countries we fly to.”

Emirates Airline is among the world’s fastest growing airlines with 400 international awards in recognition of its efforts to provide superior customer service.

Emirates first started its flight to Addis Abeba as an extension of its route to Entebbe. Within a six-month period, it has extended its frequency from three times a week to daily flights.

Launched in 1985, the airline now flies to more than 100 destinations globally; in Europe, the Middle East, the Far East, Africa, Asia, Australia and North America. Of the 100 destinations, 15 are in Africa.

In a ruling released Monday, a state appeals court upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the lawsuit filed by Melissa Mersmann and ordering her to pay $2,500 in attorneys’ fees to Continental.

The lawsuit stemmed from events in early 2002, when Mersmann was fired for her conduct during a Feb. 17 flight from Aruba to Newark.

In court filings, the company claimed Mersmann “as a result of being intoxicated, engaged in such severe misconduct as to warrant termination.”

Specifically, the company alleged, Mersmann was late for the flight, made inappropriate announcements over the plane’s intercom, smelled of alcohol, vomited twice during the flight and was unable to perform her duties.

Mersmann’s blood alcohol level was tested at .061 when she arrived at Newark, higher than the .04 reading that, under an existing collective bargaining agreement, mandates flight attendants undergo evaluation and complete any recommended rehabilitation before resuming work.

Mersmann, who had worked as a flight attendant for Houston-based Continental since 1985, acknowledged she had consumed alcohol during her two-day layover in Aruba but not in the 11 hours preceding the flight, and suggested a prescription medication she was taking could have skewed the test results.

She also argued that the positive test was not grounds for termination by itself, but an arbitration panel found that the test combined with “other serious misconduct” on the flight justified Continental’s decision.

Mersmann sued Continental claiming age discrimination, noting that her employment record included several promotions and commendations, but the suit was dismissed in 2005 and affirmed on appeal in 2006.

She sued again in 2006, claiming discrimination and retaliation after she applied for a flight attendant job at Continental and was rejected, but a judge dismissed the suit in 2007 and ordered her to pay attorneys’ fees.

Herbert Tan, an attorney representing Mersmann, did not return a phone message Monday, and attorneys representing Continental could not immediately be reached.

However, Korean Air said it has no intention of abiding by the watchdog’s advice because it “seriously” violates an individual company’s rights to formulate its own hiring system.

The state-run National Human Rights Commission said the country’s largest airline has not recruited new male cabin crew since 1997. It said Korean Air has been filling male crew positions from those working at other in-house divisions.

The commission’s advice is not legally binding, but investigator Na Sang-won said that if Korean Air does not comply, the watchdog may ask the Labor Ministry to take punitive action.

Korea’s law on equal opportunity in employment carries a maximum penalty of a 5 million won ($3,810) fine.

The watchdog said Asiana Airlines Inc., the country’s second-largest airline, had not also hired male cabin crew for its domestic flights but stopped the practice this year.

Korean Air said in a statement later Wednesday that it would not change its hiring practices, but aimed to deploy some male employees with experience to flight attendant positions.

The company said it was difficult to apply the same system on female employees because they have fewer years of service compared with their male counterparts.

Korean Air said it has about 3,150 flight attendants — 2,730 women and 420 men.

The airline aims to replace existing agreements and bring in performance-related pay.

Details of the shake-up – codenamed ‘Project Columbus’ by BA – are set out in a confidential internal document leaked to the union by ‘a concerned manager’ and obtained by the Daily Mail.

BA said last night that the plans were part of a ‘root and branch’ shake-up to be unveiled officially in the New Year.

The British Airlines Stewards and Stewardesses Association – part of the giant union Unite – has urged its members to ‘resist’ the plans.

The three-page BA ‘Project Columbus’ memo states: ‘Cabin crew costs at LHR (London Heathrow) are uncompetitive when compared against our main airline competitors.’

The paper said that ‘complex and restrictive cabin crew agreements’ are creating ‘a barrier to change’ and ‘hamper efficiency’.

It went on to say it will not force existing BA staff to switch to new contracts and agreements. But new staff will be put automatically on to the new terms and conditions.

The union says that means existing staff will be left to ‘wither on the vine’.

BA’s aim is to ‘remove the complexity and inefficiency of current LHR cabin crew agreements’ and attract staff ‘at competitive cost’.

BA also intends to change the airline’s culture by making it more skills and merit based ‘enabled through performance-related pay and merit-based promotion’.

The plan has infuriated BASSA. In its Christmas update to staff the union said the ‘Columbus’ plan –drawn up in secrecy at BA’s Waterside headquarters at Heathrow –should be opposed: ‘BASSA, backed by Unite, is still the strongest union in the country and we will not sit back and surrender our members’ – and indeed our own – futures.’

The union claims senior managers have been plotting for a year to ‘remove’ reps identified ‘as likely leaders or mainstays in any stand against BA’s future business plans’.

A BA spokesman said last night that this is the worst trading environment the industry has faced. ‘We have to offset these challenges and identify areas across the company where we can reduce costs.’

Says McClay, who is the AFA-CWA Mesa president in Phoenix:

I am looking forward to returning to work and joining my fellow Mesa flight attendants. I am confident that the outcome of this hearing will reverse management’s decision regarding termination and after seven long months, I will be able to return to the career that I am devoted to.

In addition to termination, management prohibited McClay from entering all company-owned facilities, even when acting in her official role as an elected union officer. Despite the ban, McClay actually has increased member outreach by utilizing union activists and committee chairs to relay questions and concerns from on-duty flight attendants directly to herself. Through a steady stream of e-mail blasts, letters to flight attendants and one-on-one phones calls with members, Mesa flight attendants are kept informed on all matters regarding their career.

A decision in the arbitration is expected early next year.

‘It is with regret that Aurigny has had to make these three redundancies,’ he said. They were three of a total of 79 flight crew.

‘It is, of course, no reflection on the abilities of and contributions made by the cabin crew members involved. The airline industry is going through an extremely difficult time at the moment and we could be facing an even bigger test next year as the economic turmoil continues.’

It did not help that an important part of the company’s income had run dry,’ he said.

‘One of Aurigny’s most important commercial initiatives is the leasing and chartering of its spare aircraft, with crew, to other airlines.’

That is known in industry terms as wet leasing.

‘Unfortunately, as airlines around the world have been cutting services to try to achieve profitability, the demand for wet leasing has dropped dramatically,’ he said.

Two junior colleagues spotted Kwong, who had worked for Cathay Pacific for 23 years, and reported her to the captain. She resigned and was prosecuted for theft.

The total value of the goods she pilfered was only about 130 US dollars, the Tseun Wan court was told Friday, according to the South China Morning Post.

Kwong told the court she stole the goods while suffering from exhaustion because of the effects of medication, and hadn’t slept in 33 hours. Sentencing was adjourned till December 30.

Harold Demuren, director general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) disclosed, yesterday, at a one day seminar on the effects of alcohol and drugs on aviation personnel.

To be able to monitor the personnel, the agency and other related agencies are to begin random on the spot testing of licensed personnel. The NCAA boss remarked that the nation is burdened with the reality of time, most especially on the decadence in the society, that will if not checked encroach into the safety-critical aviation industry.

“The effects of alcohol and substances of abuse ranges from changes in perception, thought and mood to physiological effects such as elevated heart rate, increased blood pressure and dilated pupils among others”, he held.

Demuren stated that Nigeria has reached a point where “we have to declare zero tolerance on the use of psychoactive agents by all aviation personnel”.

He said that the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) licensing requirements for aircraft maintenance personnel, air traffic controllers, flight operations officers and aeronautical station operators as well as flight crews, specify that a license applicant shall have no established history or clinical diagnosis of alcoholism or drug dependence.

Speaking on the same issue, director, aero-medical standards of the NCAA, Teresa Bassey, stated that often times, the issue of alcoholism is “swept under the carpet” as individuals do not usually disclose that they indulge in taking illicit substances or that they are alcoholics.

“Air crews are aware as part of their training that it is wrong to indulge in the use of psychoactive substances. Drugs have side effects but not everyone accepts and admits that alcohol is a drug and that it has deleterious side effects”.

She stated that research has shown that personnel on safety sensitive jobs must not use certain medications because of side effects that may affect their ability to perform their tasks safely and efficiently.

Guam-based flight attendant Irene Redona-Carle, a 14-year veteran and Japanese language speaker, received an invitation to Houston to meet with Larry Kellner, Continental Airlines chief executive officer and chairman, and Jeff Smisek, Continental Airlines President and Chief Operating Officer.

Continental officers drew Redona-Carle’s name and eight others from among the thousands of qualified employees entered in the Perfect Attendance Drawing.

Redona-Carle chose the Ford Escape Hybrid among the other two car choices available: a sporty Ford Mustang or a Ford Explorer.

Since 1996, Continental Airlines has awarded employees to promote perfect attendance, giving away over 100 brand new cars, jet skis, and computers. For each six-month period, employees qualify to enter a drawing for a Ford Explorer, a Ford Mustang, or a Ford Escape Hybrid. The company also has a rolling six-month award for those who had any consecutive six months of perfect attendance. The prize selections are two one-way coach or first class passes.

Continental Micronesia’s employee incentive programs include a perfect attendance and an operational success program. The perfect attendance program recognizes and rewards employees for consecutive months or years of perfect attendance. The company’s on-time bonus program rewards employees with a cash bonus plan for their teamwork and dedication when the airline meets its on-time goals for the month.

Celebrating 40 years of service in Guam and Micronesia, Continental Micronesia is headquartered in Guam and operates a Pacific hub from the A.B. Won Pat International Airport. For more company information, go to continental.com. (Continental)

It is believed the allegation is that the two men became sexually involved with a 17-year-old female passenger on a London-bound flight.

A spokesman for Australia’s largest airline today said the two staff members had been stood down but would not elaborate.

“Two Qantas flight attendants were stood down from duty on 14 September,” the spokesman told AAP.

“This followed allegations about them made by another flight attendant.”

Qantas would not confirm the nature of the allegations but it is understood both men were Australian-based attendants.

“We are currently investigating the allegations and it is not appropriate to comment any further,” a Qantas spokesman told AAP.

The allegation first surfaced following an in-house announcement from a Qantas customer service manager.

According to a Jet Airways pilot, while earlier a flight captain was entitled to between Rs 3,500-4,000 per night as a domestic layover allowance and a co-pilot entitled to Rs 1,500 per night for the same, the same has been stopped with effect from this month.

As far as international layover allowances are concerned, the daily amount has been decreased to $140 per night for flight captains from $200. For co-pilots, the same has been brought down to $100. A layover allowance stands for the grant given to pilots and cabin crewmembers on a per day basis for overnight stays outside their home cities. For pilots, even their over-time allowances have been discontinued by the airline.

When contacted about the cuts in the allowances of pilots and cabin crew staff, a Jet airways spokesperson said that the allowances have been rationalised as per international standards. Also in the firing line are Jet’s cabin crewmembers — over 800 of who escaped from a lay-off move by the airline in September this year. A cabin crewmember with the airline confirmed the news about their allowances getting cut as well.

The company has been proudly touting their Emirates A380 planes, which feature 3 levels of Dubai’s special brand of excess. An Economy ticket gets you a widescreen television equipped with 1000 channels of on-demand cable and “adjustable headrests, more space and a sliding base allowing deeper seat recline,” while Business Class passengers are set up with fully reclinable massage chairs, a personal mini-bar, and access to the onboard lounge.

Of course, it’s really the First Class cabin–a collection of “private suites”–that really lets you know you’re doing things the Dubai way. In addition to another, even better lounge, the section has two Shower Spas featuring heated floors, leather seating, and a full-length mirror. The Spas are manned by “dedicated shower attendants,” whose job it is to “prepare” the area (and presumably prevent any turbulence-related mishaps). And of course, all passengers are treated to “unique, advanced mood lighting system, complete with a starlit sky” which “adjusts throughout a flight to reflect the time at the destination, and to help combat effects of jet lag.”

As if all these futuristic touches weren’t enough, the airline is bringing back commercial flight’s original selling point: cute stewardesses! The mostly female crew, which is “meticulously” recruited from the developing world (with a 6 percent acceptance rate!), wear “well-fitted” beige skirts, pillbox hats, and long scarves. They’re required to attend beauty and etiquette training, maintain the freshness of their make-up, and wear high-heels on the ground and in the air while adhering to weight requirements and a no-pregnancy policy. Additionally, “Emirates’ rules require attendants to politely accept a business card or phone number if it’s proffered by a passenger,” though the airline doesn’t require the attendants to “call or give out their own numbers, unless they want to.”

For their part, the staff doesn’t seem to have much of a problem with their employer’s old-school attitude, probably because the company seems pretty invested in helping them make the most of their off days:

“Young, single crew members are paired with roommates and housed in blocks of luxury-apartment towers across Dubai. The night life is reminiscent of college. [Stewardess] Ms. Masillamani recalled a recent party at a room in the 21st Century, on Dubai’s neon-lighted main strip. Female crew members danced in bikinis while young men sprayed champagne.”

“I retouch it every 15 minutes,” she said. “Otherwise, my supervisor will remind me.”
Emirates’ Glamorous Crew

Emirates flight attendants smile at the ceremony promoting them from economy to business class service.

The global economic slump is just now touching the glittering shores of the oil-rich Persian Gulf. But when it comes to the 10,000 flight attendants working for Emirates, the government-owned airline here, Dubai isn’t cutting any corners. In an industry in a tailspin in much of the rest of the world, this city-state of man-made island developments, luxury resorts and an indoor ski slope has put some of the glamour back into air travel.

The glamour comes with a price. The airline is a demanding employer, flight attendants say. Tough rules are enforced, including some that would be deemed discriminatory in the West, such as weight requirements and a no-pregnancy policy for unwed women.

The carrier meticulously recruits attractive young men and women from around the world, like Ms. Rodriguez, a brunette with big green eyes and high cheek bones. As part of the airline’s standard training, Ms. Rodriguez attended beauty and etiquette training. She’s required to keep her makeup fresh, even on long flights. High-heels are a must when she’s in uniform, even on the ground. Both men and women are expected to get manicures and facials.

Innocuous onboard flirting is condoned: Emirates’ rules require attendants to politely accept a business card or phone number if it’s proffered by a passenger. (The airline doesn’t require the attendants to call or give out their own numbers, unless they want to.)

The uniform for women — pillbox hat and beige scarf attached to one side, flowing sideways over the shoulder — evokes traditional Persian and Turkish attire.

Earlier this month, dozens of uniformed and perfectly made-up Emirates flight attendants greeted and mixed with a star-studded, black-tie crowd, including Charlize Theron and Robert De Niro, at a $20 million grand-opening party for the new Atlantis hotel here.

“Our crew always sticks out,” says Ms. Rodriguez.

Many of the airline’s recruits are from developing countries in Asia, Eastern Europe and across the Middle East. For them, the airline is a rare ticket to see the world in style, and for women from conservative countries like Iran and Egypt, it’s a chance for independence. For many Western airline veterans drawn here, Emirates has so far been a safe haven from the economic storms buffeting the rest of the industry.

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Tamara Abdul Hadi for The Wall Street Journal

Emirates airline crew members head to the airport in Dubai last month.

Layovers aren’t so bad, either.

“We work hard in the air, but we also party hard when we are on the ground,” said Neha Masillamani, a flight attendant from New Delhi, as she got her hair styled and her nails done at a crowded Dubai salon popular with Emirates attendants.

Young, single crew members are paired with roommates and housed in blocks of luxury-apartment towers across Dubai. The night life is reminiscent of college. Ms. Masillamani recalled a recent party at a room in the 21st Century, on Dubai’s neon-lighted main strip. Female crew members danced in bikinis while young men sprayed champagne.

At night, flight attendants flock to Zinc, a throbbing night club tucked into the ground floor of the Crowne Plaza hotel here. Male attendants, hair gelled in spikes and sporting tight-fitting designer shirts, earrings and leather necklaces, order pitchers of vodka mixes. The manager of the club estimates up to 70% of its revenue comes from Emirates’ crew.

“It’s so much fun, like being on a dreamy vacation. They take care of us here,” said Jane Park, a 24-year-old from Korea, dressed in a tiny black dress and stiletto heels as she greeted her friends and colleagues.

There are limits. Despite its tolerant attitude toward foreigners, Dubai still harbors a conservative Muslim culture. If a single female attendant shows up pregnant, she’s fired. Openly gay male attendants need not apply. Premarital sex and homosexuality are both illegal in Dubai.

“We aren’t above the law here,” says Kevin Griffiths, Emirates’ senior vice president for cabin crew.

On duty, attendants are kept on a short leash.

Crew members aren’t allowed to drink in the 12 hours before a flight. Smoking and eating in uniform are prohibited. If an attendant gains too much weight, he or she is put on a diet by the airline’s resident nutritionists.

A regulation manual prescribing everything from dress to posture on duty is also clear about the underwear women should have on under their light camel-color skirt and pants: white or beige, and “well fitted.”
Young Women Preferred

Emirates draws young recruits. The average age of a flight attendant is 26. By comparison, the average age of an attendant on a U.S. flight is in the mid-40s, according to a spokeswoman for the Association of Flight Attendants. According to the union’s statistics, just 12% of members in the U. S. are under 30.

Emirates also prefers women to men: Seventy-five percent of total flight crew must be female.

“It’s a little stifling,” says a 25-year-old European female attendant, who asked not to be named. “We are human beings, not just a marketing tool.”

Emirates hasn’t been immune to the current global economic downturn. The airlines posted an 88% drop in first half-year profit last month. But Valerie Tan, a company spokeswoman, said it is hiring more attendants to staff new routes to North and South America. And new planes are on order.

In the past 12 months, the airline says, it received 93,079 flight-attendant applications. Using photos, interviews, psychological profiling and group sessions with candidates, executives hire just 6% of job seekers. Recruiters hunt for promising hires around the world.

In some countries, applicants are put on a scale and weighed. (The practice is against the law in many Western countries because it’s considered discriminatory, according to the company.)

After a six-week training course at Emirates headquarters near Dubai’s sprawling airport, the airline graduates about 90 new flight attendants per week.
Less Pay, More Fun

Michael Miller, a 29-year-old from Miami, has flown with Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Corp. He says Emirates pays less than his former employers, but the perks and lifestyle are better.

Emirates also offers free living accommodations and transport to and from work. Married personnel are offered either company housing or generous housing stipends. The crew also gets up to 50% off at local bars, restaurants and health clubs.

Emirates’ routes — including nonstop flights to Los Angeles and São Paulo — beat the U.S. domestic circuit, where most young American attendants wind up. And Emirates puts its attendants up at luxury hotels and gives them generous per diem allowances while traveling.

“I would have to fly 30 years in the U.S. before I could travel like this,” says a bronzed Mr. Miller, lounging with a blonde colleague at the rooftop pool of one of Emirates’ high-rise apartment towers. “There is no comparison to what we get here,” he said.

The Impact union released results of the ballot last night indicating 59 per cent had voted in favour, with 41 per cent having voted against.

The result comes days after the State’s largest trade union, Siptu voted in favour of the proposals last Friday.

Impact had recommended the deal to its members on the basis that it would save the airline’s Shannon base and retain Irish cabin crew on transatlantic routes.

The union also said the deal would “substantially reduce the number of proposed job cuts among cabin crew”.

The cost to members would be increased productivity demands in light of the loss of 94 staff through voluntary redundancy, the deferral of pay increases under the Towards 2016 pay deal until July 2010, the deferral of pay increments for two years and new pay scales for new entrants.

Mandate has 1,500 cabin crew members at the airline.

The agreement, which was worked out between unions and Aer Lingus management in meetings last month, focused on a “leave and return” scheme under which employees would receive a severance package and then be able to subsequently reapply for positions at the company on inferior terms and conditions.

Staff were also offered the option of leaving the company permanently under an early retirement or voluntary redundancy programme.

Aer Lingus is seeking savings of about €50 million on its payroll costs as part of its new reform programme. It had originally planned to cut 420 cabin crew and replace almost all Irish-based long-haul crew with US-based staff.

The company want to close their base at Glasgow airport with the loss of 138 jobs and operate from Heathrow instead.

Staff have staged a high-profile fightback, including setting up a website, www.savebascotland.co.uk.

Yesterday, they held a two-hour meeting in a hotel at Glasgow airport to discuss their next move.

Unite union airport officer Oliver Richardson said: “The meeting was successful but sadly coincided with a threatening letter to all employees from the company.

“It is basically trying to force employees at Glasgow to make a decision on their futures by December 19 – six days before Christmas – otherwise they will be moved to European short-haul flights operating from Heathrow as of January 17 whether they like it or not.

“It’s a threat and a bullying tactic when employees have followed procedures and stated they are willing to continue discussions. Today’s meeting was to give an update and discuss moves but it has coincided with this letter from BA. It has left employees angered.

“We have strong support from MSPs and Scottish Secretary Jim Murphy. The fight goes on.”

BA chief executive Willie Walsh wants some jobs to go through voluntary redundancy and the others to go to London.

Union bosses are to meet the company next week for further talks.

The Daily Record revealed on Wednesday how BA plan to scrap the early morning “red eye” Edinburgh – Heathrow shuttle often used by Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Details emerged just weeks after the airline dumped the Glasgow-Heathrow early flight.

It also emerged this week that BA are in talks about a merger with the Australian flag-carrier Qantas.