One person who will not be at the book launch is Sir Rod, G. Mc’s successor at Ansett.
It is said by some that Rod’s primary mission at Ansett was to prepare it for sale. That is, to make it profitable. Or if that was not possible, to subtlety asset strip it and divest it of expensive liabilities. At the top of the list was redundant FEs with their “guaranteed a job to age 60” agreement.
Rumours of dodgy sale and lease back of aircraft deals did the rounds, Haymen and Hamilton Islands went for a song, and a number of lucrative in-house departments such as flight catering were flogged off. That is not to suggest that the airline’s owner was the motivator or beneficiary of any shenanigans. Coincidentally, the newspapers and so called “investigative journalists” at the time were relatively silent on the unfolding debacle Ansett was to become.
By 2000, Ansett was a zombie and Rod, on secondment from News Corp, moved on to weave his magic at British Airways. However, he left some unfinished business at Ansett as the more tenacious FEs, the “dirty dozen”, were still on the books. At one stage they were locked out for the best part of a year and then sacked for not resigning. Needless to say, the Federal Court ordered their reinstatement.
Fable has it that Rod was amazed to find BA still had FEs, and he relished the opportunity to continue his crusade against them. The decision to retire the Concorde is controversial, but the Paris crash allowed Rod to pull the trigger on its FEs.
It is somewhat ironic then, that the Concorde was instrumental in cementing the FE’s career at Ansett. According to FE folklore, in early 1980, the controlling owner of Ansett, Sir Peter Abeles, a white knuckle flyer, was en route across the Atlantic on the Concorde when an engine failed. At supersonic speed the deceleration is neck snapping, and the subsequent required high speed descent from 60,000 feet to 3 engine altitude is arse puckering to say the least.
Following level off the captain did a cabin walk through, apologising for the big dipper ride and assuring everything was under control. The passengers found his presence comforting. After about 10 minutes however, someone within ear shot of Sir Peter, suggested to the captain that perhaps it was now time for him to return to the cockpit and “attend to things that need attending.” The captain responded that because the Concorde was 3 crew, he was basically surplus to requirements in the cockpit. The aircraft was being well looked after by his First Officer and Engineer, his primary concern now was to calm cabin anxiety.
Those words resonated with Sir Peter. His knees stopped shaking and he silently vowed that any future aircraft of Ansett would be 3 crew. In 1984, he overrode his management and guaranteed his FEs a job until the normal retirement age of 60. And as far as he was able, he stood by it. Ansett’s B767s were unique in that they were 3 crew.
At the behest of United Airlines with an order for 50, the 767 was originally designed as 3 crew and the first 30 were built as such. Basically, the pilots' overhead panel was located to the side as the FE’s panel, supplemented by FE in-flight access to the 2 crew, ground only, troubleshooting facility. Then, in response to Airbus coming out with its 2 crew A300, Boeing reconfigured it to 2 crew. The buyers of the first 30 were offered the option of conversion to 2 crew at a cost of $2 mil each. Ansett, the launch customer of the 76, and true to Sir Peter’s word, was the only one to stay 3 crew. No wonder he was referred to as “Saint Peter” by his FEs.
Click below for video of the Ansett 3 crew 767 cockpit. It takes about 3 minutes to get into the business part.
FE PANEL, ANSETT 767
Photo, The Purple Stripe
The story of how the incredible job guarantee actually firmed up is also intriguing.
Abeles, a poor Hungarian Jewish immigrant to Australia, had built his TNT transport conglomerate, which included Ansett, on the backs of his workers. He was reputed to have been ruthless and screwed many along the way. However, now in his twilight years and failing health, he did not want to be thought of as a heartless old prick. He had mellowed, and desired to be remembered as a fair man of compassion… and the FEs were in the right spot at the right time.
They and Ansett management were aware of Abeles’ bias to 3 man crew. For the FEs, realising their precarious future, it was imperative that an industrial document be drawn up and signed as quickly as possible. Management were of course horrified at the prospect of being permanently saddled with a group of workers whose job was going the way of the dinosaur and did their best to stall negotiations, hoping Abeles would come to his senses. Many months of protracted meetings were headed nowhere. The FEs figured their only chance was to bypass management and talk to Abeles directly. His minders ensured that was never going to happen. However, about October 84, Abeles walked unannounced into a meeting at TNT’s Redfern HQ. He assured his ashen faced team that he was there only as an observer and asked that negotiations continue as though he was not in the room. About 2 hours later, Abeles looked at his watch, and as abruptly as he arrived, excused himself, “My diabetes you know, I must have lunch.”
A minute or two later, one of the FEs, Dave, also excused himself, and said he was going for a leak.
It was a hunch, but sure enough, there was Abeles in the gents fronting the trough, but nothing was flowing. Dave too fronted up and went through the motions but he did not really have the urge. Can you imagine the conversation?
Abeles: We have the same problem.
Dave: Yes, it’s easily fixed though.
Abeles: My doctor says I need to lose weight. Not so easy.
Dave: You’re losing all your FEs. They’re going to Cathay.
Abeles: You have a problem too? You need to get your prostate checked.
Dave: Can we agree on it?
Abeles: 5 minutes ago I was busting for a pee. I’m here now and nothing.
Dave: Nothing is happening in there. You’re the boss. Just tell it what you want.
A few seconds later, and the piss flowed.
Dave: Tell those other dicks the same.
Together they returned to the meeting room. Abeles announced, “We agreed. You just need to fix the details,” and walked out again.
In 1988, when it was finally determined that Ansett’s A320s would be 2 crew, to stem a second wave of FEs going to Cathay, Abeles reaffirmed his job guarantee with a personal letter to each FE.
