Staff asked to forego rises

Press, 2 March 1982, Page 2

Staff asked to forego rises

PA Auckland The financially troubled Continental Airlines — in line with its American offices — will ask its New Zealand staff to forego pay increases. The airline, which flies three services a week from the United States and flies across the Tasman, has been warned by its auditors that it is in danger of going under. Some 700 of the company’s staff in the United States have accepted a 10 per cent pay cut. The 1 airline has about 49 staff in New Zealand. Most of them will be asked to forego a 9.2 per cent pay increase, awarded last November, and due to be paid this month. The airline made a working loss last year of $127 million, but this was reduced to an over-all loss of $76 million after the sale of aircraft and other assets.

However, inspite of the problems in America, the airline is doing well on the Pacific services to New Zealand and Australia, and there are no plans for a cut-back. The airline’s New-Zealand manager, Mr Bill Clague, said yesterday that the company was considering increasing its Tasman services to meet the demand. He said the airline was filling 73 per cent of its seats between Auckland and Los Angeles — compared with an average of 53 per cent within the United States. “We are operating within a regulated environment to this part of the world. Compared with the United States, it would be difficult not to do reasonably well.” Mr Clague said he was fairly confident, considering the position of the airline, that the New Zealand employees would accept the withheld pay rises.