Passengers have alternatives to QF, if after having considered their options they decide (usually) to pay a premium in order to travel QF and the airline is making profits then crew should be appropriately rewarded.
It would be unusual if pay and conditions at a country’s main airline didn’t set the standard, so QF Pilots will be the best paid in Australia and set the benchmark for everyone else.
I don’t need to explain what we go through to get onto the flight deck of an airliner and stay there, we deserve what we earn. Why should an unskilled baggage handler earn close to what a junior pilot makes ?
QF pilot pay should compare with other national airlines such as BA, AF, CX etc
Baggage handler pay should compare with similar jobs in the area. Obviously SYD is more expensive to like in and Kalgoorlie has to compete with what’s on offer in the mines.