Perhaps it's time to put a little perspective on the real situation.
I came over in the first wave, and as many of you will probably recall I started in Qantas as a fixed term employee (one of the 11 month bods) in long haul.
Whilst I agree that opening overseas's bases isn't ideal for the flying we like to do out of Australia, the fact is its well and truly happened. The flying is never going to be the same as it was when Qantas was owned by the Government and the good old days are well and truly gone. That's reality and it seems a bit pointless to belly ache over it.
Yes, there have been some initial teething problems - but that's be expected. I remember my first few flights when I started and there were teething problems then as well! Fortunately, I had colleagues who were happy to point me in the right direction and were patient enough to put up with endless questions.
The local recruits are very enthusiastic and many of them have flying experience with other airlines, so they're not completely green.
As for comments that passengers have been unhappy with the service and that the cabins have been left in a mess, well I can only speak of my experiences and that hasn't been the case at all. Each flight, passengers have commented that the crew are particularly friendly and that they enjoyed the flight.
One particular VIP asked me what on earth I was doing up in first class. When I queried what he meant by that (I presumed he didn't think I was up to scratch), he said he thought that first class was reserved for the old grumpy bums rather than the younger friendly ones who seem happy to be at work and it was a refreshing change!
The only problems I've encountered have been the lack of handover forms being completed by Australian based crew (I'm yet to get on board and find one completed!), the snide little comments made by people who ought to know better (some CSM's should lead by example), and childish game playing like tying up the ends of the safety demo equipment and hiding equipment.
It wouldn't hurt to bear in mind that the crew at the LHR base are making the best of an unavoidable situation.