Air New Zealand and engineers still in talks over strike - 'currently' no impact on flights

An Air NZ Boeing 777 at Los Angeles. International flights would be affected by a strike. Photo / Getty Images

Air New Zealand managers and unions continue to meet with a mediator in a bid to avert a damaging strike before Christmas.

The airline this morning said there is ''currently'' no impact to flights as a result of proposed industrial action by Air New Zealand aircraft maintenance workers which would start on December 21, one of the busiest days for travellers this summer.

''We continue to mediate with the unions representing these employees, with the hope of reaching a reasonable resolution and avoiding a strike if at all possible,'' the airline said on its travel alert page.

''If industrial action were to go ahead, we would do everything possible to mitigate impact to our services, and get our customers to where they need to be.''

It is understood negotiations before a private mediator went late into last night.

The airline slammed the threat to strike by engineers covered by E tū and the Aviation and Marine Power Association when it was announced last Friday.

Close to 42,000 customers booked to travel domestically on its A320 jets and internationally faced potential flight cancellations. The airline accused just under 1000 engineers of deliberately using Kiwi families' much anticipated Christmas holidays as a bargaining chip.

The airline detailed the average income of maintenance engineers, logistics and other staff to strike — $115,000 – angering unions who accused it of taking an unnecessarily aggressive approach.

The airline's turboprop fleet won't be affected by any action as they are maintained by another work group.

Savage, E tū's head of aviation said on Friday the dispute was not just about pay.

''It's about repeated proposals by the airline weeks out from Christmas to pay them less than colleagues who have already settled, and to cut into key conditions, including overtime rates.''

Those affected included line and hangar engineers, but also store workers and aircraft cleaners, who were covered by the same document and ''who were struggling to get ahead", Savage said.

Since the two sides traded blows in public last week, representatives have gone quiet.

There were several strikes by engineers and cabin crew last decade but relatively little full-blown industrial action during the past eight years, helped since 2015 by a new negotiating system, high performance engagement.