Pilots rumored to walk line at Spring Airlines

• Source: Global Times
• [08:46 August 04 2010]
• Comments

A member of the media attends a press conference held earlier in the city by Spring Airlines. Photo: CFP

By Li Xiang

Spring Airlines Tuesday refuted claims that its pilots are about to go on strike, after the Shanghai-based carrier can-celled more than a dozen flights to seven Chinese destinations over the weekend.

"None of our pilots are planning strike action," Zhang Wu'an, spokesperson of Spring Airlines, told the Global Times Tuesday.

He said that flights were rescheduled simply to ensure the safety of air transportation during the Expo period.

"The weather has been very sporadic with sudden rains and showers, and we wanted to make sure flying conditions would allow optimal safety for our passengers," he added.

But a man in a senior position at Spring Airlines, who asked not to be identified, said that recent discussions about a growing dispute between pilots and their bosses have been surfacing in the workplace.

"I heard that our pilots are not happy with their recent salary rise being tied to a certain set of conditions," he told the Global Times Tuesday. "They apparently want better treatment."

According to an online forum for the airline Tuesday afternoon on Xici.net, several posts from Internet users clas-sifying themselves as Spring Airlines pilots expressed their anger over their never-rise salaries and long working hours. The website was hours later blocked with a note popping up that read, "You have no right to visit this private board."

But last week access to the forum was not restricted to the public, and a post claimed that Wang Zhenghua, chairman of Spring Airlines, addressed a conference weeks earlier saying that, "Some pilots are putting the company under pressure and taking advantage of the July 28 five-year anniversary to ask for more pay."

Meanwhile, another post claimed to be written by a pilot from the airline read, "The airline has never offered me a salary rise … and we don't get the proper time for rest needed between our flights."

There was no mention of any other cancelled flights as of late Tuesday, according to the website of Spring Airlines.