Some former Air New Zealand flight attendants who lost their jobs when the pandemic hit are baffled at why they're not in the running to be rehired by the airline, which is crying out for staff.
And an expert in business ethics, who praises Air New Zealand's code written to meet NZX listing rules, says the airline is "not walking the talk" in its dealings with some former crew - a claim the airline rejects.
Crew spoken to by the Herald have amassed decades of experience and say they had exemplary records, one supplying copies of tour of duty feedback from colleagues and managers to support that.
An estimated 125 former crew who want to get jobs back are apparently not welcome at the airline, even though it is looking for 700 flight attendants to fill gaps. Those shortages are being felt across its operation, with some flights being cancelled.
The former flight attendants say they could be back in the air after a five-day refresher course, instead of the weeks of training needed for new staff starting from scratch.
Two former crew spoken to by the Herald say they understand that the airline can hire who it likes, but they are upset at the process and what they say is a lack of transparency.
They say they loved their jobs.
"I never put the company down, some of those people who went back used to grizzle and moan. I loved my job working with people," said one who wishes to remain anonymous as she would still like to work at Air New Zealand.
A rejection letter, as part of bulk email seen by the Herald, told her that an application would "not be progressed" and wished her the "best of luck in your future endeavours".
The former flight attendant said the email hurt. "It was like a stab in the heart - it's been tough, really tough."
But Air New Zealand says it has rehired more than 500 crew and is continuing to rehire more who lost their jobs in 2020.
"When anyone is rehired at Air New Zealand, we take into account a multitude of factors and it's standard practice to review previous performance, demonstration of Air New Zealand values and leadership behaviours, and to undertake internal reference checks before any decision is made," said the airline's chief people officer Nikki Dines.
For any former cabin crew who recently had their expressions of interest declined, "we understand this news would have been disappointing for them," she said, and the airline was "encouraging those individuals to contact it directly to discuss this further or they wish to reapply.
"We are confident we conducted a thorough, robust and fair process, and the airline has acted in accordance with its legal obligations, values, and its code of conduct and ethics.
Jane Arnott an adjunct research fellow Victoria University's school of management and director of The Ethics Conversation, which last year reported on NZX companies' commitment to ethics.
Air New Zealand was among those most highly ranked for its code of ethics.
But she says the airline has now fallen short of its own standards of ethical behaviour in the way it has run its hiring process
"I believe its treatment of loyal former flight attendants is inconsistent with its values," said Arnott.
In one section of the lengthy code, it refers to how the company will treat people fairly and with respect in all dealings.
The company is committed to merit-based "talent acquisition", the document says.
"We are committed to attracting, developing and advancing the best people through a fair and merit-based process, and ensuring the process is free from bias and discrimination."
Arnott said that if a person's behaviour was not good enough during their employment, then that should have been discussed and an opportunity provided to improve – not brought out years later under what seemed to be a convenient cloak of confidentiality.
"There is hard and fast evidence that some of these black-listed people have been star performers."
The bulk rejection email from the "widebody cabin crew leadership team" on May 13 said that although it was not in a position to provide specific feedback regarding applications, "there are a number of things that we have thoroughly considered to determine the candidates we will be inviting to apply for our vacant positions:
• Previous performance history.
• Demonstrated Air NZ values and leadership behaviours.
• Training needs."
Both flight attendants say they had never been disciplined, although one said her failure to bring a special meal to a passenger - whose request she didn't hear - had been noted.
But she had never been called in by her managers during years of service on widebody planes.
"If there was a problem, it would have been 'tea and bikkies' with one of the managers," said the attendant, who also wants to remain anonymous.
She had served on early repatriation flights in 2020 and was holed up in hotel rooms for days as part of crew who were praised by the airline's leaders. After opting for furlough because she wanted her job back, she was made redundant in a wave of layoffs.
She said she embodied the can-do ethos Air New Zealand encourages and went out of her way to go the extra mile for passengers. For example, if she knew it was an Economy-class passenger's birthday, she would get them a glass of champagne from Business Class, and recalled once comforting a passenger who cried in her arms about a terminal illness diagnosis.
The airline shed about 4000 of its 12,500 staff in 2020 and the ex-crew say that when they were made redundant initially, everyone got a phone call. The unwanted former staff members had waited for months to learn if they had their jobs back and were notified by the bulk email.
Arnott said Air New Zealand returned personal files but all were incomplete. Positive manager appraisals, gathered over years and across different flights, were missing.
Crew had been advised/encouraged to "ask again", with the implication being that full files would be returned.
Air NZ was choosing to ignore ongoing requests, said Arnott, who last year was made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to Pacific communities and conservation advocacy.
A legal source said ex-employees have the right to their full record of work history under privacy laws, and should make an application for that information as wide as possible. However, evaluative material about a job candidate's application could be withheld and there was no requirement to favour an ex-employee over new applicants.
Arnott said the Air NZ code was one of the best she had researched among NZX50 companies, but the airline needed to walk the talk.
"A code of conduct and ethics is no longer a decoration or tick box, its existence is increasingly influencing major investment decisions – responsible and ethical investing is now the fastest growing asset class."
The airline sold its last slots at Heathrow in 2020.