GalleyHag -
My reasoning re. the Impulse conditions was based on NJS and Virgin awards. The Impulse EBA was in the pipeline before QF was interested in us. The commencement of our contract with QF certainly sped the EBA inroduction along! Our operation both before and after becoming involved and purchased by QF is very similar to that of NJS and Virgin though a world away from SH.
Are you saying that NJS being on B scale wages (compared to SH) is OK because they are a contract? They still reduced SH flying back in 1991. Southern, then Impulse reduced it further I agree. I guess it is just evolution though. Alot of the oldies will remember when a 40 seat F27 was considered mainline. The very idea seems proposterous nowadays! The Ansett 146s were once a separate division (Ansett WA and Eastwest). I bet Ansett lost HUGE amounts of money absorbing them into mainline with the crew on higher wages. There was even talk at one stage to ship some off to SkyWest - a subsidiary. Obviously it wasn't working for them.
POINT ONE...
Sorry back to my point!
I am saying that B scale wages are very applicable to smaller aircraft operations and smaller companies where the ability to make profit is smaller. It is also harder to make money from regional operations where the traffic volume is just not there. (Though the Dash 8 people should be getting MORE $ !!!)
POINT TWO...
Your position within SH involves MANY aircraft variations, variable crew operations, back of clock flying, international operations and product and service variations. Your position covers a much wider scope of work practices. Therefore you can expect to earn more. On the 717 our biggest concern is knowing whether we are operating on a two or three toilet a/c as it changes the exit row numbers! Even then there is no difference in service procedures or emergency equipment locations and procedures! We operate a single aircraft type, single class and have not been rostered back of clock flying since the commencement of the EBA. (Barring some hideous SYD-HTI-SYD patterns after the AN collapse! Even then we got double time after midnight as a dispensation. Very lucrative!)
When they introduced J class to the 717s (plan was scrapped before the service began!) the FAAA was to fight for more money in recognition of the service and product variations. This is just ONE factor of the many that fall under a day's work for you at SH. Do you understand my reasoning?
POINT THREE...
If they reintroduced J class on the 717 and had us operating BNE-SYD-MEL or had us on another aircraft type or introduced variable crew compliments we could reasonably expect more money. If Australian introduced another aircraft, a second service class or extended beyong medium haul you could expect the FAAA to renegotiate the EBA / salary.
POINT FOUR...
By passing on routes that do not make money for mainline to a subsidiary the company is able to make profits. We saw that with OOL (obviously before the AN collapse and the 717s couldn't handle the capacity!). Same when NJS took over the QLD regional ports and Southern took over LST and SYD-HBA. Qantas needed to do this. You can't fly a 737 BNE-ROK (as was the case prior to 1991) and expect to make moeny with today's lower airfares and higher costs. So Qantas either creates a subsidiary / contract or ceases to operate in those routes.
Gone are the days of high airfares and little competition (just AN and QF) where the loss making routes were subsidised by everything else. The margins are no longer there. The answer - create a operation highly specialised in that area. The costs savings are many and Qantas is silly not to persue them where they are making losses. Please show me an AO destination that Qantas made reasonable (if any!) money on. Under the Qantas structure is was just not possible - unless you want LH FAs to take a cut etc. Same with Impulse taking over Tassie and HTI. Would you take a pay cut just so Qantas mainline can keep serving a particular destination? Hence the creation of the NJS contract, Impulse and Australian. If Australian started flying SYD-LAX or Impulse SYD-MEL with J class then I would be crying foul.
Now something I wish to ask is the reasoning behind the two different SH scales for permenant staff. How can two permenant employess doing indentical jobs be under different conditions??? That is the rort! That is where the erosion of conditions is!
In my view the only FAs being exploited financially by QF are the Dash 8 FAs. For sure it is harder for Eastern and Sunstate to make money on regional flying but you can't tell me their wages are adequate.
Regarding Impulse pay vs. SH. Under our salary structure we could easily earn more than a second year SH FA. Obviously that would change with seniority at SH. Just backing up Mr Seatback's point.
Sorry I have rambled on a bit, GalleyHag. I am tired. Just want to make sure my point was clear. I hope you understand my position in defending separate conditions for specialised / particular operations. Australian, Impulse and NJS FAs are hardly on the poverty line. I believe these wages are adequate for the positions they fill.