Growing together - Kapers

The efficiency of repairing damages in the
cabin was annoying. All of a sudden we realised
that in spite of having been one company
for 18 months the two fleets had few parallels
and that certain procedures had not been
adapted. At the beginning we found things
difficult. We were adamant, wrote numerous
reports and stood in strongly for equal treatment
of both fleets in regard of identical
equipment, additional equipment, procedures,
check lists etc. Many changes have been
made since then.
Jörg Beer, our CRM instructor, gave us good
advice: “Always ask first why do you do this
or that in this way” instead of “We do this in
such and such way.” We made good experiences.
Although SWISS had been flying under one
brand by then for quite a while there were
still a great deal of differences. A typical ex-
Crossair F/A was young, good-looking, frank,
straightforward, taking care of details, charming
and knew all the announcements by
heart. A typical ex-Swissair F/A was a bit
older, an experienced person, had travelled
the world, man or woman from Switzerland,
proud, efficient, professional and always trilingual.
And then there were all the colleagues
without “ex”.
We felt this was a wonderful chance to participate
as a kind of “ambassador”. (Remark:
Today a cabin crew often consists of all three
“categories”.)
However, from the beginning the teamwork
in the cabin was very positive, supportive and
enriching. We are still impressed about the
positive attitude towards work and motivation
of the F/As of the regional fleet and how
professional their work is in every aspect.
Certainly there were moments at the beginning
when we stood in the cabin wondering
about things that were just different! Now
and again there was a real battle: excess luggage
and less room in the cabin, the aircraft
more narrow and louder, no more ACARS,
stubbornness of some colleagues, the “whatever-phrases”
in the OPS, the ambiguities, the
entire company histories, the numerous short
term changes, the disappointments to have to
do without long haul, one’s own perfectionism,
the pressure to succeed, the hassle between
two different cultures (we still flew
Airbus). We often felt like being in a “sandwich”!
Sometimes we were definitely
knocked out and wondered why we were
bothering about that integration business at
all? We can tell you why: It is an incredibly
exciting task within our company. We were
able to accomplish so much, bring in our personalities
and we received many direct feedbacks
from our colleagues.
The collaboration with the pilots is very good
today. There were, in fact, some conflicts of
interpretation of individual regulations at the
beginning. A lot of stamina and power of
motivation was needed then, sometimes the
courage to talk about unpleasant topics and in
the end a large portion of common sense!
Retrospective it was just an ordinary break up
process: on the one side separation from “traditional
habits”, on the other side insistence
(and justifiably so, since we were newcomers
we needed to stick to the written directives).
For us personally this process was the biggest
challenge. We discussed and wrote endlessly.
We are convinced that both sides were able to
mature and for SWISS this is of inestimable
value!
Everyone tried – and this
with success – to
approach one another
with respect. We found
no reasons for our sorrows
and worries
And what is most important: We were never
left alone with all these problems! Both leading
corps are tackling the problems and talk
to their people. But only if they know who
to address – since here as well, the rumour
mills grind!
Let’s not forget how incredibly hard the Swiss
media confronted SWISS, a lot of factoids
were spread. This first integration effort states
a wonderful example how to learn to differentiate!
We are fully aware that the actual situation is
not yet ideal. Therefore a task force was founded
(we are both part of it) in order to harmonise.
Some tasks are not as easy to complete,
certifications are needed and time and
we have to bring in a lot of flexibility and
good will.
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