Japan’s low cost carrier (LCC), Peach Aviation, has hit the headlines due to a pilot shortage that will cause the carrier to cancel two thousand flights.
Netizens showed their concern at the carrier’s reasons for cancelling the flights, with some claiming that LCCs are bad news altogether.
From Yahoo! Japan:
Peach Aviation – Up To 2000 Flights Will Be Cancelled From May To October Due To A Pilot Shortage
The LCC (Low Cost Carrier) Peach Aviation announced today that there is a possibility of up to 2088 flights being suspended from May 19 to October 25. The reason is that the amount of pilots who didn’t fulfill the basic health standards was unexpectedly high and they can’t guarantee the necessary amount of staff.
The routes that have a possibility of being cancelled are 8 domestic routes such as Kansai-Fukuoka and Kansai-Sendai, as well as 2 international routes. For the 26175 people who have already made reservations, Peach is offering a change of flights or a refund. The decrease in income due to the cancelled flights is predicted to rise to 3 billion yen.
Comments from Yahoo! Japan:
中年:
A low wage and harsh working conditions. Has it finally come to people becoming ill due to it?
sum*****:
People becoming sick one after another? Could Peach be a “black company”?
いぬ:
You can’t use LCCs for work purposes.
kum*****:
This is better than hiding the personnel shortage and irresponsibly continuing the flights, I suppose.
met*****:
Low cost airlines are a risky business. Even if the price is a little higher, with JAL and ANA you can feel secure and they’ll stick to the schedule.
茫漠:
It’s like what happened with [the fast food chain] “Sukiya”.
gon*****:
I definitely get the feeling they’re using safety as an excuse.
az6*****:
This kind of news could be disastrous. What if customers rapidly start losing interest?
Superneet:
They’re over as a company.
dar*****:
Surely, as a matter of common sense, there can’t have been that many illnesses. Isn’t it simply that the crew had enough with the low wages and quit en masse?
nin*****:
Isn’t it weird that they already know that there are going to be a large number of staff off sick in 5 months’ time? I can’t help but think that their shortage of staff is due to people quitting.
tqw*****:
Absence due to illness?! That’s a lie right?! Isn’t this just like an airline version of Sukiya?
kep*****:
Why are there so many people too sick to work??
ay9*****:
You definitely can’t fly with them for work purposes due to the huge number of delays and cancelled flights. Even for private travel when you think about the risks it doesn’t seem worth it. You can enjoy your travel more if you safely buy cheap advance tickets from major airlines instead.
tjd@bejmg:
Absence due to sickness exceeded predictions
They’re going to be sick until October, even though it’s half a year away?
un_*****:
If 20000 people have already booked then they’re going to make people angry 19000 times. Maybe they also won’t be able to guarantee the staff who have to phone them. （笑）
kak*****:
There’s no way I’d use an LCC.
off*****:
I guess you get what you pay for, after all…
shi*****:
You can’t use an LCC unless you’re flexible about the date…
t༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ށ {ʇᴉɥSɥʇʞɔnℲ:
Just get rid of unnecessary flights such as those to Busan.
