KEY POINTS:
Air New Zealand is seeking to employ about 80 engineering staff, having laid off around 300 such workers just 10 months ago.
The recruiting effort follows the airline's success in gaining two contracts to install in-flight entertainment systems for Virgin Blue and British charter carrier Thomsonfly, The Dominion Post reported today.
Air New Zealand will also carry out heavy maintenance checks on Thomsonfly's nine Boeing 767-300s.
Technical operations general manager Chris Nassenstein said 37 recruits were needed at the Auckland wide-body and Christchurch narrow-body maintenance bases.
Another 46 temporary staff were needed in Christchurch for the 10-month Virgin Blue contract.
The lay-offs early this year came after more than 2000 engineering staff, faced with the closure of the Auckland heavy maintenance base and the loss of 617 jobs, agreed to sweeping labour reforms to save $48 million over five years.
Aviation and Marine Engineers' Association secretary George Ryde said the airline was struggling to attract enough workers for the new contracts.
Potential candidates had been scared off by the bitter fight over the engineering business as well as the continuing instability of the global aviation industry, he said.
- NZPA
