Originally Posted by
dragon man
The reason being that by going back to year 1 again you are effectively paying the cost for your change of type.
I assume you are not a Qantas Mainline pilot and you are not familiar with the respective Agreements. Without seeing the rates etc, you might think that going from a 1-12 year pay scale to a 1-4 would be going backwards, but it is not.
When changing types Long Haul to Long Haul, there is a series of calculations specified in the Agreement, and you get paid the higher of those calculations. The backup position is that you get paid no worse than your (old type) hourly rate multiplied by the bid period divisor. Short Haul to Long Haul you get the average divisor of previous 6 months paid at your Short Haul hourly rate. So, no, you are not 'paying' for the type transfer this way.
The pay calculation for the 787 has a different section in the Agreement and is not calculated like the A330 or A380. During negotiations for the introduction of the 787, Qantas wanted to meet a specific crewing cost (sound familiar?), particularly at introduction. All Captains and most FOs would not get a position on the 787 with less than 12 years service (Long Haul pay scales are from year 1 to 12 years of total service as a pilot, not in rank). A way to improve the pay position for pilots was to introduce a new pay scale that started at year 1 in rank on type and went to year 4. So, if a pilot now in Mainline gets an A330 command, they probably have well over 20 years of service and will be on the A330 year 12 rate on checkout. A pilot going to the 787 will start at year 1 regardless of previous service (except if RINed etc).
Year 12 hourly rate for A330 Captain is $342.87
Year 1 hourly rate for 787 Captain is $380.03
Year 4 hourly rate for 787 Captain is $409.26
Of course, minimum guarantee, overtime and night credits are calculated differently, so you can't do a straight comparison based on hourly rate alone. Suffice to say, pilots are bidding off the A330 to go to the 787 (and not paying for the conversion with their hourly rate increment).