The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), travel agents and airlines have proposed ways to protect travelers ahead of a possible strike by EVA Airways flight attendants.
Members of the Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union, which consists of China Airlines and EVA flight attendants, is on Monday next week scheduled to begin voting on whether the EVA flight attendants should go on strike.
The union has about 5,700 members, of whom 3,100 are EVA flight attendants.
EVA flight attendants have said that they would not go on strike if the motion does not secure the approval of at least 2,850 union members and 2,480 EVA flight attendants.
As the vote is scheduled to run until June 6, many have expressed concern that a strike would affect summer travelers.
In view of likely disruptions a strike would have on travelers, CAA officials on Monday met with representatives from the travel industry, airlines, the Tourism Bureau and the Consumer Protection Committee.
The CAA said that it would ask EVA to keep the public appraised about its dispute with the union, as well as on measures it would undertake to protect consumers.
Not only should the airline make announcements through the news media or through the Taiwan Stock Exchange’s market observation post system, it must also provide information on changes to flights and measures to accommodate passengers affected by the labor dispute, it said.
“Once the airline knows when a strike will take place, it must find ways to tell consumers in advance about any flights that would be canceled or delayed,” CAA Air Transport Division Director Han Chen-hua (韓振華) said.
Airline representatives stressed the importance of the union giving prior notice for any planned strike, saying that they already have rules governing passenger refunds in the event that flights are changed.
However, they said that they would not know how many flights would be affected by a strike if they do not know when it is to take place, which would make it impossible for them to follow procedures to handle requests for refunds caused by the strike.
Travel agents agreed with the airlines on the advance notice, but said that they should not be held responsible for consumers’ losses caused by a strike and urged the bureau to change the terms of the standardized contract between travel agents and travelers.
Travel agents have been asking for strikes by airline workers to be listed among reasons for breaches of contract that cannot be attributed to travel agencies since a strike by China Airlines pilots in February, for which they were asked to bear additional accommodation costs by travelers stranded overseas.
The first global hotel Keys Selection by the Michelin Guide includes four hotels in Taiwan, Michelin announced yesterday. All four received the “Michelin One Key,” indicating guests are to experience a “very special stay” at any of the locations as the establishments are “a true gem with personality. Service always goes the extra mile, and the hotel provides much more than others in its price range.” Of the four hotels, three are located in Taipei and one in Taichung. In Taipei, the One Key accolades were awarded to the Capella Taipei, Kimpton Da An Taipei and Mandarin Oriental Taipei. Capella Taipei was described by
EVA Airways today confirmed the death of a flight attendant on Saturday upon their return to Taiwan and said an internal investigation has been launched, as criticism mounted over a social media post accusing the airline of failing to offer sufficient employee protections. According to the post, the flight attendant complained of feeling sick on board a flight, but was unable to take sick leave or access medical care. The crew member allegedly did not receive assistance from the chief purser, who failed to heed their requests for medical attention or call an ambulance once the flight landed, the post said. As sick
The Taichung District Court yesterday confirmed its final ruling that the marriage between teenage heir Lai (賴) and a man surnamed Hsia (夏) was legally invalid, preventing Hsia from inheriting Lai’s NT$500 million (US$16.37 million) estate. The court confirmed that Hsia chose not to appeal the civil judgement after the court handed down its ruling in June, making the decision final. In the June ruling, the court said that Lai, 18, and Hsia, 26, showed “no mutual admiration before the marriage” and that their interactions were “distant and unfamiliar.” The judge concluded that the couple lacked the “true intention of
A drunk woman was sexually assaulted inside a crowded concourse of Taipei Railway Station on Thursday last week before a foreign tourist notified police, leading to calls for better education on bystander intervention and review of security infrastructure. The man, surnamed Chiu (邱), was taken into custody on charges of sexual assault, taking advantage of the woman’s condition and public indecency. Police discovered that Chiu was a fugitive with prior convictions for vehicle theft. He has been taken into custody and is to complete his unserved six-month sentence, police said. On Thursday last week, Chiu was seen wearing a white
RSS