Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 (nCoV-2019)

[lenaitch]

Are any of you considering getting the updated vaccine booster? I don't know a single person who has even talked about it.

We will, as soon as eligible in mid-November. That and the flu shot when it comes out. Only reaction either of us had to previous shots was a sore arm.

Pneumonia, Shingles, Tetanus, Hep A&B - I'll take anything they are willing to give me.

 

[Bayer]

Are any of you considering getting the updated vaccine booster? I don't know a single person who has even talked about it.

My husband already has his appointment for next week. Then again he just turned 70. I'll be eligible in January. But the next one is the flu shot!

 

[Bayer]

The problem with mask mandates at this juncture is that you really have to mandate N95s (nevermind wearing them right) to make a difference. I think we should prioritize improving ventilation, ring-fence healthcare facilities and improve vaccination booster uptake.

AoD

I agree that most of the few people who wear masks don't use anything really adequate, though it's better than nothing. I order boxes of the 3M Aura N95s regularly. But I don't think vaccines are sufficient at this point. To protect hospitals, we should slow down transmission (of all respiratory illnesses) now that fall has arrived.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I agree that most of the few people who wear masks don't use anything really adequate, though it's better than nothing. I order boxes of the 3M Aura N95s regularly. But I don't think vaccines are sufficient at this point. To protect hospitals, we should slow down transmission (of all respiratory illnesses) now that fall has arrived.

Well I guess we will find out - the post-vax Omicron peak (which by all accounts raged pretty much out of control fast) last late fall didn’t turnout to be nearly as bad as feared, which is a good sign. I guess the problem is how to ring fence the hospitals to prevent it from overtaxing the health workers.

Planning to get the bivalent dose.

AoD

 

[afransen]

I probably will, but not in a huge rush.

 

[gabe]

According to Air Canada masks are unscientific.

"Air Canada welcomes the removal of these restrictions, acknowledging that air travel is safe and that the measures were not justified by science. We believe it will greatly facilitate travel, help to continue stabilizing the country's air transport sector and support Canada's economy. Customers and crew will still have the option to wear masks and we also encourage customers to monitor their own health to be sure they feel well and fit to travel," said Craig Landry, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1574462649139691520

 

[Bayer]

According to Air Canada masks are unscientific.

"Air Canada welcomes the removal of these restrictions, acknowledging that air travel is safe and that the measures were not justified by science. We believe it will greatly facilitate travel, help to continue stabilizing the country's air transport sector and support Canada's economy. Customers and crew will still have the option to wear masks and we also encourage customers to monitor their own health to be sure they feel well and fit to travel," said Craig Landry, Executive Vice-President and Chief Operating Officer at Air Canada."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1574462649139691520

Sometimes I just don't understand why private businesses publish statements they should know will be controversial and annoy part of their clientèle. There was strictly no need for this tweet.

 

[zang]

Sometimes I just don't understand why private businesses publish statements they should know will be controversial and annoy part of their clientèle. There was strictly no need for this tweet.

Air Canada also chose to use staff availability as a "safety issue" to try and side-skirt the mandatory passenger compensation payout from the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-cta-compensation-1.6583231

Long gone are the days of globally-lauded crown corporation. Privatization made them just another money-grubbing near-monopoly.

​

 

[Richard White]

Air Canada also chose to use staff availability as a "safety issue" to try and side-skirt the mandatory passenger compensation payout from the Air Passenger Protection Regulations.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/air-canada-cta-compensation-1.6583231

Long gone are the days of globally-lauded crown corporation. Privatization made them just another money-grubbing near-monopoly.

​

Not to get too far off topic but technically you can't fly an aircraft without a minimum number of staff. This is a safety thing in the event of an evacuation.

On the other hand, they have had more than enough time to get their act together and hire.

One contributing factor may be how crews are paid.

Flight Attendants for example only get paid while the doors are closed. They also have to bid for flights and new hires usually get placed on reserve, standby or have minimal flights

It is easy to say that this is Air Canadas fault but it is also a by-product of how the industry operates.

 

[zang]

Not to get too far off topic but technically you can't fly an aircraft without a minimum number of staff. This is a safety thing in the event of an evacuation.

They have the staff to cover cancellations, they're just trying to cancel less profitable flights without repercussion.

It is easy to say that this is Air Canadas fault but it is also a by-product of how the industry operates.

And the industry is f-ed in Canada in great part because of the privatization of Air Canada. They spent nearly two decades crying poor due to 9/11, and will now continue to milk Covid-19 for subsidies and special accommodations as long as they can get away with it.

I say this as the child of a long-serving AC Captain. The company is a twisted mess of what it once was.

 

[lenaitch]

One contributing factor may be how crews are paid.

Flight Attendants for example only get paid while the doors are closed. They also have to bid for flights and new hires usually get placed on reserve, standby or have minimal flights

I thought it started as 'push back', but essentially a quibble. Each bargaining unit is different but I don't think any pay for all the hours they are required to be at work.

 

[Richard White]

I thought it started as 'push back', but essentially a quibble. Each bargaining unit is different but I don't think any pay for all the hours they are required to be at work.

And that is my point. The wages are so bad for flight crews that they have a hard time attracting staff. The delays are not covid related at this point (the covid cases are low and passenger traffic is up) but instead systemic.

Once the novelty of flying everywhere wears off, flight crews start to realize they do not get paid that much. It is not the consumers problem that AC is run by cheap bastards.

 

[PinkLucy]

I say this as the child of a long-serving AC Captain. The company is a twisted mess of what it once was.

A good friend of mine is a retired Captain and their spouse also worked for AC for years. They agree with this.

 

[Northern Light]

I don't wish to divert the current tangent further; but must contribute that staffing, especially for entry-level/lower pay jobs is a challenge across many industries and sectors, its certainly not limited to aviation.

That's not to let Air Canada or anyone else off the hook; issues of low wages, low benefits, work-life balance, and failure to invest in quality products/services all play a role, in the current situation, as does the way in which business leaders have been trained to operate for the last 2 generations (shareholder value has become a curse, literally and metaphorically, often causing shortsighted decisions to meet a quarterly target at the expense of the longer term interests of the company, never mind society)

 

[Admiral Beez]

Speaking of elderly care, these images of seniors homes terrify me. I refuse to end up in one, mentally addled and bedridden due to dementia, surrounded by increasingly frightening sounds, fearful of being attacked or robbed by other residents or abused and neglected by the staff, all while stinking of piss, sitting in my own excrement whilst my family wait for me to die like the Stone Angel’s Hagar Shipley. No way..... if I ever get dementia or otherwise appear to be headed to Sunset Villa or whatever these warehouses are called, I’ll be going to the doctor for a voluntary exit. Those places scare the hell out of me. Why do we treat our elderly so? Hopefully one benefit of Covid19 and its decimation of Canada’s warehoused elders is a review and changes to senior care.

This is exactly what I was referring to.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1576789564609695746