The union, recalling the statements made by the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Pedro Nuno Santos, who “referred to the fact that Lisbon airport is full and very soon unable to receive more aircraft,” he said, “in view of this indisputable fact, TAP pilots do not understand how the company’s management is possible, knowing about this situation and directly suffering from its consequences, as the largest “infrastructure” operator decides to get rid of Airbus aircraft (with more passenger capacity, more economical and much less polluting) and decides to increase Embraer’s aircraft fleet.”
In a statement, SPAC assured that “this option for the Embraer aircraft consists of using smaller aircraft, forcing more flights to carry the same number of passengers“, emphasizing that “in a busy airport, where on top of that TAP was forced to provide 18 ‘slots'”, it is “This is clearly the wrong option, forcing us to reduce the number of available seats and jeopardizing the Recovery Plan and the very future of the company.”
Pilots like all Portuguese taxpayers would like to understand the reason for this discrepancy between the Minister’s statements and the actions of the TAP Administration, keeping in mind that these and other mismanagement options (as another example, the case of cargo planes stopped due to lack of coordination, which was recently reported) damage the treasury of the TAR and the country for millions of euros“, they criticized.
SPAC emphasized that “when all airlines operating in Europe opt for larger and more efficient aircraft (Airbus or Boeing), TAP is the only company that has decided to reduce the Airbus fleet and increase the Embraer fleet.using old planes, the few that are available for the summer.”
For SPAC, “the aircraft now replenishing the TAP fleet through the PGA are of a previous generation and clearly outdated in terms of operational efficiency, pollutant emissions and noise levels.”
The union structure said that “TAP initially argued that this change to the park was justified by the reduction in passenger numbers caused by the pandemic”, but that “however, TAP’s own management recognizes that the operating level of 2019 is about to be reached”, achieved, and for this reason it is unthinkable to support an inadequate operational strategy favoring large and newer aircraft over smaller and older aircraft.”
In addition, they said, the airline “continues to strengthen its fleet through operational aircraft leasing (ACMI operations), using at least three other companies to operate flights for TAP.”
“Obviously, the three companies have different levels of service and image of their aircraft and crews, immediately perceived by passengers marveling at this patchwork during boarding, never sure which company will actually transport them, with the subsequent destruction of TAP’s image and reputation,” – guarantees SPAC.
The union said these contracts use “pilots from these companies who are remunerated in line with international market prices, while TAP maintains a 45% pay cut for TAP pilots and 25% for PGA pilots, driving up costs and demonstrating that the restructuring plan does not work. sufficient for the sustainability of the company.
The SPAC also denounced that “violations of the Company Agreements and abusive interpretation of several clauses by TAP continue, resulting in monthly scheduling in violation of the rules as the only way to maintain the illusion of pilot staff being attuned to the needs of the company. ”, also recalling the professionals “dismissed and then reinstated by TAP by court order, who continue to receive wages without any flight scheduled by the company, which is a clear violation of the right to work.”