Pilots Fought At San Francisco Hotel—14 Hour Flight Delay Was Blamed On ‘Sickness’

Two Air New Zealand pilots reportedly got into a physical fight at their San Francisco layover hotel, disrupting flights home to Auckland. Passengers were told their pilot was sick. The September 7 departure wound up delayed more than 14 hours while the airline arranged a replacement. Live and Let’s Fly flags the incident of a disagreement between pilots over union issues which began on their flight to the U.S. from Auckland. One pilot reported the other to the Air New Zealand, and things turned physical at the hotel. The pilots apparently returned to New Zealand as passengers on separate flights. Credit: G B_NZ via Wikimedia Commons) It appears the original altercation began in the cockpit on the way over to the States. Both more junior pilots (first officer and second officer) allegedly complained about the captain’s behavior. Air New Zealand’s chief safety and risk officer confirmed they’re investigating the matter involving two off-duty crewmembers in the United States, emphasizing, There was no incident onboard the aircraft. Air New Zealand canceled San Francisco – Auckland departures on September 6 and 7. The September 7 NZ7 service was subsequently renumbered NZ6077 and rescheduled for 12:15 p.m. on September 8, arriving in Auckland at 8 p.m. September 9. The airline’s email to passengers blamed sickness and explained that a replacement pilot was on the way. Once that pilot arrived, they needed minimum required rest before operating the return flight. The airline did cover hotel costs for passengers. And only 13 people actually flew economy on the rescheduled flight, so they had plenty of empty rows to spread out in. Pilot memes now suggest that Air New Zealand has added proficiency in “tae kwon do, boxing, jujitsu, karate or other martial arts skills” as desireable for new pilots applying for a position. Topics on this page Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary » More articles by Gary Leff »