Asiana Airlines: Service likely not to be affected by strike

Flights between Saipan and Seoul are not likely to be disrupted by the strike started yesterday by unionized pilots at South Korea’s Asiana Airlines, the air carrier’s local office assured customers.

Asiana-Saipan general manager Kwang Joong Kim said yesterday that the airline’s Saipan-Seoul service was operating normally and was expected to continue to do so despite the failed negotiations between Asiana management and employees’ union.

“Everything’s going to be all right. Only 30 percent of the cabin crew is participating in the strike, so we can manage to operate normally right now,” said Kim. He also expressed confidence that the negotiations would resume and conclude soon.

Furthermore, Kim said the Saipan service would be among the last flights to be cancelled even if matters get worse than expected.

“If we have a problem, we will let go of domestic flights first and long-haul flights second. Short flights like the Saipan service are not likely to be affected. There’s no need to worry,” he said.

However, Kim also said that the airline would be watching the developments on the strike very closely. The local office was now preparing for the possibility of the strike lasting more than just a few days and affecting Saipan, he added.

Saipan flights are currently fully booked, Kim noted.

According to an Associated Press report, unionized pilots at Asiana Airlines, South Korea’s second-largest carrier, began a strike after negotiations with management failed.

The walkout began at noon Sunday in South Korea (0300 GMT), union official Lee Sang-jun said. Asiana’s unionized pilots have presented a wide range of demands to management, including more rest days, a greater say in management decisions, and a higher retirement age.

“Until we achieve our demands, we’ll continue the strike,” Lee said, describing the possible duration of the walkout as “unlimited.”

Asiana says it has 826 pilots, 502 who belong to the union, and an additional 26 foreign pilots. The union says it has 527 members.

About 300 of Asiana’s unionized pilots took part in a 24-hour strike earlier this month, but the airline reported no disruptions from that walkout.

Asiana plans to utilize the non-union pilots, any unionized pilots who don’t strike and the foreign pilots to operate its flights as it did during the one-day walkout.

The decision to strike was made after company officials refused to attend a meeting Saturday to discuss pilots’ demands for increased job security and reduced flying hours, said Lee Hack-ju, another union official.

Asiana spokesman Jason Kim said the airline doesn’t expect much disruption to its domestic and international flight schedules during the initial stages of the strike.

“We won’t have that much of a problem for two weeks,” Kim said. “But after two weeks we’ll be facing some trouble shifting around the remaining pilots’ schedules.” (With AP)