Cathay Pacific has confirmed talks sponsored by the Labour Department between the company and the Flight Attendants Union (FAU) have resolved the outstanding differences between the two parties.

Chief executive John Slosar said: “This is the best possible outcome for our customers, who have always been at the forefront of this issue for us.

“They can now look forward to their holiday travel plans with confidence.”

The resulting agreement includes:

• A commitment that all destinations will remain available to Hong Kong based crew.
• That crew based outside Hong Kong will not exceed 15 per cent of total cabin crew staffing.
• That outport based crew can only operate based routes between outport bases.
• That a minimum of 50 per cent of overall flights on based routes will be operated by Hong Kong based crew.
• This part of the agreement being valid for a period of two years beginning January 1st 2013.

General manager cabin crew, Liza Ng, said: “The agreement we reached today addresses issues important to the company and the crew. 

“It is incumbent upon the company to always ensure its long-term success when discussing short-term issues. 

“We were able to accomplish that today.”

Additionally, the company and the FAU jointly agreed on changes to some lifestyle issues deemed important to cabin crew. 

For example, regarding late night flights and specific patterns, Cathay Pacific will trial some new initiatives including service flow and enhanced rest times.

According to Slosar: “This is a good agreement for the company. 

“It allows us to expand our business here at home, bringing even more services to the people of Hong Kong. 

“Specifically, we maintain the flexibility we need to offer what our customers want us to provide.”

He continued: “Beyond that, we were able to look after the interests of the broader cabin crew community in terms of addressing lifestyle issues, which is important because we must keep the interests of all staff at heart. 

“And we have demonstrated that we will listen to staff concerns and respond with appropriate solutions.”

Slosar concluded: “We are very grateful to the Labour Department for sponsoring these talks and keeping the parties focused on a resolution that protected the interests of the travelling public. 

“We’re now ready to redouble our efforts to ensure a pleasant experience for all of our customers over the holidays.”