Originally Posted by
Oriana
Sounds like alot of guys on here are happy to let the schoolyard bully steal their lunch money off them.
Sheesh - have some self esteem!
I reckon these sorts of analogies badly cloud the point. This isn't a schoolyard, where if stand up for yourself, the bully respects you and backs down.
This is a commercial negotiation. QF are looking to save money on future A350 flying through this negotiation. They have multiple options about how they can do so. One option is reaching an agreement on the EA. The other is setting up a new entity.
To my mind, the relevant questions are still:
1. Do I think QF is bluffing about setting up a new crewing entity?
2. If not, do I think that we could jack up the costs for QF either through PIA or a public relations campaign, to such an extent that they would back down on setting up a new entity and continue to negotiate after a no vote?
I don't think they're bluffing, and I don't think we have much leverage to force them back to the table. If they pull the A350 terms out of the EA following a no vote, my understanding is we'd have no basis for PIA in relation to that (happy to be corrected). And, at the moment, I can't see us getting much sympathy for a public relations campaign. QF will point to the fact that the industry is in a meltdown with Corona, bang on that Sunrise will be like unicorns and rainbows and the best thing ever, and argue that pilots are paid multiple times the average full time wage but are putting Sunrise and QF itself at risk.
That might be mean and nasty of them, but this isn't a schoolyard. They hold the cards, and clearly intend to play them. My take, is that we need to play the best possible hand in the circumstances - which is keeping the flying mainline.