Originally Posted by
Troo believer
Just remember that just supporting some Aussie Airlines is not some individual entities but thousands of men and women that have lost their jobs, their ability to earn an income and in some cases their families too.
What have you given up? What have you lost?
Some of the airlines mentioned are using passenger aircraft for IFAM not just dedicated freighters. The federal government could kill two birds with one stone by supporting Aussie’s without a job and future whilst assisting with moving freight. Charity begins at home does it not?
Ok I’ll try to be a bit clearer with my point:
- QF/VA didn’t have extensive freight networks pre-Covid.
- just because the government “could” use Australian airlines, doesn’t mean the airlines can do it. For example using Qatar or EK to Europe means access to 20-30 destinations. That’s something a subsidised QF 787 could never do. Even to Asia, yes QF could probably run a 787 to HKG with belly freight, but that’s not the final destination for the entire load. So then what?
- Yes passenger aircraft are being used. A large percentage of cargo was previously carried in the belly of passenger aircraft. Simply put, there are not enough dedicated freighter aircraft to carry the volumes required on a normal day. The 787/777 are probably the best options going around for this given the extra length allows a decent quantity of belly cargo. (EK recently broke their own record and fit 63T of belly cargo on a -300ER) But again refer to my earlier point about a viable network to carry the freight on to its final destination.
- The Aust Govt is providing support to Airline staff. It’s called JobKeeper. The relative “small change” of the IFAM wont stop thousands of staff loosing their jobs. That’s the result of the pandemic.
- of course charity brings at home. It’s the Government’s role to support our country. But that’s not going to stop a harsh reality from coming to all of us in the next 12 months. JobKeeper etc just “kicks the can down the road” and allows Aussie airlines to hold off on making a hard decision to fire staff. Thinking that IFAM is going to save thousands of jobs by only using QF/VA/etc is a dream. I’m sorry but that’s the harsh truth.
- Again IFAM is designed to get high value exports to their destinations. The unfortunate truth means that doesn’t involve using Aussie airlines and staff, because they can’t do the job efficiently (for the reasons stated above).