Originally Posted by
Buster Hyman
I very much doubt it
would have happened.
VB was not a threat to AN as much as AN Management was.
QF was AN's focus and
VB merely filled a vacuum & even then, didn't take all of the free market share on offer.
You and LL can doubt it all you like. I stand by my words. I was there. I saw it. And so did others. it had nothing to do with ‘threat’ but everything to do with attitude.
You are forgetting that the then
VB ramp staff were mostly not long term aviation folk. Most were fresh from other industries, or have you forgotten that also?
VB did not want to hire unionised AN or QF rampies, flight attendants, or pilots where possible. They were mostly youngsters with a mere 12 months experience when AN folded, they had yet to learn the principles of loyalty and how you shouldn’t **** in your nest in the aviation industry as you never know what is just around the corner. I know that for a fact because I unfortunately happen to know a Mr B. Highfield extremely well. They didn’t want people who might rock the boat, they wanted fresh meat that could be manipulated and moulded so they hired a lot of youngsters who worshipped Lord Branson like he was some kind of Messiah, and the monkeys got paid peanuts. They were dancing around on the tarmac, face painting, making funky announcements, even challenging Darth Dixon from QF to don a flight attendant dress and makeup and be part of the FA crew on the first International
VB flight from London to Sydney. The look on old Scrotum Face Dixon’s face was priceless. Like the Queen at a Manpower stage show. Hell, Amanda Chappell even got her tits out in the flight deck on one of the flights.
VB certainly didn’t operate the way AN and QF did and those ramp staff flipping the bird and waving goodbye to AN won’t be forgotten by those who saw it.