And no shortage of obstructive unions and indulged employees that have been on the gravy train for far too long!
Run of the mill flight attendants earning 85K. CSM's earning well in excess of 100K. Second officers earning 150K. Ridiculous!
Geoff Dixon, you are the best CEO in Australia. The aviation world is changing and you have the courage to make the hard decisions BEFORE the red ink starts flowing. As for your $6m pay packet, I consider it just reward to operate a 24/7/365 business that turns over in excess of $12 bn per year and employs almost 40000. Some sort of responsibility that.
As for the alleged "squillions" Qantas make, and the "greed" which drives it, has anybody considered that the margin on turnover is around 4.5%. Yes, QF are rolling in it. They make 4.5 cents for every dollar of revenue. Every $100 ticket makes it $4.5, and every $1000 ticket makes it $45. Wafer thin margins in the most capital intensive industry in the world. How do you fund multi billion dollar re-equipment purchases on those kind of earnings? With experienced, intelligent people who need to be offered significant packages, otherwise their skills will walk out the door and vest with an organisation prepared to pay what they're worth.
I far prefer the proactive QF management team, who are effective agents of change, to their counterparts in the US. In that country, employees require the threat of bankruptcy to realise they are clinging to a world of pay and conditions and work practices that became unsustainable long ago.
Let my now assume the brace position for the usual spray of invective and vitriol...