From SkyNews.com:
Virgin Atlantic has fired 13 cabin crew after they posted comments on Facebook, calling passengers “chavs” and suggesting the planes were full of cockroaches.
The airline said the employees’ behaviour was “totally inappropriate” and “brought the company into disrepute”.
It launched disciplinary action last week amid a row over a group created on Facebook, which has now been removed, about planes flying from Gatwick.
Claims that the airline’s jet engines were replaced four times in one year were made on the group’s discussion board.In a statement, the airline said: “Virgin Atlantic can confirm that 13 members of its cabin crew will be leaving the company after breaking staff policies due to totally inappropriate behaviour.
“Following a thorough investigation, it was found that all 13 staff participated in a discussion on the networking site Facebook, which brought the company into disrepute and insulted some of our passengers.
“It is impossible for these cabin crew members to uphold the high standards of customer service that Virgin Atlantic is renowned for if they hold these views.”
The five Virgin Atlantic Boeing 747s based at Gatwick are among the newest 747s flying worldwide. They were acquired from Boeing in 2001.
A spokesman for the airline said: “There is a time and a place for Facebook.
“But there is no justification for it to be used as a sounding board for staff of any company to criticise the very passengers who ultimately pay their salaries.
“Virgin Atlantic staff are known for their world-class customer service and there is no place in our business for anyone who behaves otherwise.
“We have numerous internal channels for our staff to feed back legitimate and appropriate issues relating to the company.”
Virgin Atlantic, which is 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, is controlled by entrepreneur Richard Branson’s Virgin Group.
By: Arabella-Cox - 3rd November 2008 at 18:53
It wouldn’t be a case of “Oooo, lets go insult Virgin on the internet! With our reals names!” more of a casual conversation between crew on the internet where they probably felt invulnerable. (lets face it, you dont expect your employer to read your facebook stuff, let alone fire you over it!) So they wouldn’t have thought about using their real names or even considered what they were doing properly.
By: J Boyle - 3rd November 2008 at 17:54
Not a good idea to insult your firm on the web..even less so if they can find out who you are! :rolleyes:
Having said that, I guess it would take about a month as a cabin crew member before you got pretty cynical view of the passengers.
On most long haul flights I see someone do something pretty stupid.
(Often involving drunk young UK males returning from a holiday).
By: Cking - 2nd November 2008 at 16:23
Why did they use their real names when slagging of their employer and the punters?
Creepy crawlies on the aircraft is not unusual.
The behavior of the great British traveling public leaves a lot to be desired. I should imagine on the Orlando run there must be some real scum on that trip!
Four engine changes in a year? What were the circumstances? If they were planned, whats the problem?If they were failures, VS has a large, hard working fleet so four in a year is reasonably good.
The big NO NO was to use their real names.
I work for an airline but I don’t use my real name on the net, I won’t slagg off my employer on the net and if I am involved with anything that ends up on the net I either don’t contribute or I am guarded in what I say.
It ain’t rocket science!
Rgds Cking
By: ATFS_Crash - 1st November 2008 at 17:32
So I wonder if it was anyone from this message board or the other message boards I visit? The language and behavior sounds very similar to many posts I have seen.
By: Newforest - 1st November 2008 at 14:48
The five planes involved were originally destined for Alitalia, not sure where the problem of cockroaches would come in?
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November 1, 2008 at 2:01 pm