All Nippon Airways Co. plans to offer its flight attendants the option of working two days a week, starting fiscal 2023, enabling them to pursue second jobs as the coronavirus pandemic has dented demand for air travel, company sources said Monday.
The Japanese airline hopes the scheme -- previously limited to those who needed to take care of children or the elderly -- will also be used to learn new skills, potentially linking them to new endeavors for the company, according to the sources.
It will be available to around 8,500 of its flight attendants who live in Japan. However, ANA plans to restrict the number of people utilizing the system to prevent it from impacting its operations.
The employees will be asked to decide on the total days off they plan to take at the beginning of a fiscal year in April, allowing them more flexibility in scheduling shifts. They will additionally be able to request which routes they wish to primarily work on.
ANA flight attendants are typically expected to work five-day weeks. But with COVID-19 denting demand for air travel, the airline has been allowing them to work fewer days.
