Accelerated 744 retirement was what Tino, insinuated, if they get certainty (what more do they want with EBA still current?) and feels less angst.
I think that Tino was playing bad cop. Andrew David good Cop, Sonia and Dick statues. (I wasn't there for all of it)
I think one of the best points from the pilot side was, that we are happy to work with you to find solutions to your problems and have demonstrated that (Lower cost, Australian Airlines, SOs on flexi lines to sav $8mill, 787 to give certainty, need extra pilot when Ansett failed, bring in the Ansett pilots outside of seniority until the immediate crisis is over etc) but pilots want a career as well (very long term employees.) Anxious because for the most part mainline pilots have been excluded from areas getting growth (JQ, JC, Network etc) for whatever reason. We have not been taken on along whilst the group has expanded. (apporx 20 years to east coast 737 command.)
Giving all group pilots a path would allow them to see a long term future and help retention. Andrew David rightly hinted at the extreme cost of all the training musical chairs that goes on in mainline and if a group opportunity list was in place, but that is a system and it is open for negotiation to change and limits as was proposed (voted down at the time) in an EBA some years ago.
Also the point that JL made about QF saying they are worried about us wanting an assurance and having a SGM and angst, so QF won't order jets because of that, whilst saying with support of Alan they they cannot give an assurance. So in fact they have certainty, in that there will be no assurance, so why can't they order them.
I think that something that was missed that Tino said (paraphrased) that there is no way they would give up flexibility, because it was his responsibility to guard against future down turns and flexible cheaper workforce was part of that puzzle.
Now that is what a CFO should do but it also does nothing to allay the fear about whilst currently they have no plans for JC or network to expand influence in the market at the expense of mainline or JQ, those plans could change in the event of a downturn or the wind changes.
Most people at meeting where polite if forceful, some maybe a little bit too passionate. (at least in my eyes)
I truly believe that senior management don't truly understand why the pilot group is anxious. They can't fathom the level of distrust and the history of why distrust is there because they weren't in it and probably can't relate to it from a job sense. I wonder whether Dick has been able to give them an insight or perhaps he has spend most of the last 15 years in the office can't fathom it either. (That is not a direct criticism, just a reality of not being on the line)
Last edited by Capt_SNAFU; 20th Feb 2018 at 01:09.