Originally Posted by
Roj approved
How many of the A380 pilots will be approaching 65 within the next 12-24 months?
0. Though there are some LH pilots on other fleets approaching (and a couple beyond) 65.
Originally Posted by
Roj approved
What happens then? Forced retirement?
If there is no SH vacancy to bid for, yes. (Under current rules).
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Roj approved
Where do they stand then for bidding to the SH? (Pending any vacancies of course)
If there is a vacancy they can bid for it. Whether a vacancy has to be created for them I thought was ruled on a bunch of years ago with the result being the company does not have to create a slot for them. Happy to be corrected on that point.
Originally Posted by
Roj approved
Ie: can you bid while “stood down”
Most definitely. You’re stood down in category. It doesn’t stop you bidding. A better question would be can you bid whilst on LWOP. I’m not sure that latter question has been tested.
Originally Posted by
Roj approved
Of the <65 group, are there any positions for them to bid to?
Not currently. There may be toward the end of this year depending on a few different things.
Originally Posted by
Roj approved
If you are late in your ‘50’s and a F/O, is there enough time for you to find a left seat before you retire?
This would depend on seniority. There are a lot of ‘ifs’ to do with future promotion including how many A380s come back and what QF chooses to do with A380 crew in the interim. Most of the F/Os you mention are now a couple of hundred numbers more senior to what they were 12 months ago and some of them are likely to now have their commands a couple of years before they would have otherwise expected. In the past I would have listed out the exact fleet numbers to provide more context but can’t do that anymore. ‘Confidential company information’.
Originally Posted by
Roj approved
What of the S/O’s? They must be looking at a long stay on the sidelines?
Again, this will depend on seniority and some of the aforementioned ‘ifs’. IF 12 A380s come back and IF we are looking at half a dozen (or more) A350s arriving in late 2023 then it’s likely that 2022-2023 will see the biggest training program every run by Qantas. Even if only 6 A380s come back, with the A350 coming down range we are still looking at a pretty significant training load.
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Roj approved
How long can they be on LWOP for before?
As long as they like.
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What happens at the end of the LWOP?
They come back to their previous category and are either stood up (if there is work) or remain stood down. They start to accrue years of service, AL, LSL again, etc.
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Now, if they retire the aircraft, then all these problems become the company’s problem through the RIN process, so it would appear that will be an option QF won’t want to take.
If they retire the A380s it’ll likely be because they’ve chosen to replace the capacity with A350s. There will be airframes for the remaining A380 crew to RIN to.
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Roj approved
All the best to everyone in this predicament, a terrible situation. Take care of yourselves and your families, and we are all hoping for smooth skies in the not to distant future.
Yes. A terrible predicament that is impacting crew in very different ways depending on the seat you happened to be in when the music stopped. Hopefully with vaccinations ramping up in the lead up to Christmas, once the election is done and dusted we will see international borders re-opening.