As someone observing from a very long way away, my spin at predicting the future (admittedly, always a very dodgy proposition), would be something along these lines:
- Many if not most of the promises made to staff in the first few months of new ownership will in most cases fail to materialise; (but will have the desired result of keeping a large enough proportion of said staff from agreeing to take on industrial action in time for said industrial action to have any real effect).
- Reduction in manning levels ‘but only by attrition’ (yeah, right) in many areas.
- Outsourcing of many areas traditionally done from within the airline, (already been done in quite a few areas, I know), much of it to cheaper labour areas north of the equator or to private contractors within Australia whose staff will not enjoy the traditional benefits of airline industry staff (e.g., perks like sub-load travel).
- Reliance on a far larger scale on new (leased) equipment so that (further) swingeing cuts in engineering support will not be quite so obvious in the short term.
- Initially in the domestic area, but eventually in long haul as well, many promotions to be not in the main line, but into offshoot operations line Jet*, where main line staff will be forced to make the decision to (a) stay unpromoted but retain current benefits, or (b) take promotion, but at the cost of losing many current benefits.
- Many more overseas-recruited (read cheaper) staff.
- Eventually, who knows how many years down the track, possibly even an (on paper at least) closing down of the existing company and a re-branding of one of the offshoots with the Qantas name, with all the staff on individual contracts and working to the new ‘lean, mean’ working practices.
Of course, I could be totally wrong, and I expect to be told so in no uncertain manner by people far closer to the QF coal face than I am, some of whom will assure me that the Australian Public will insist on paying a premium to be transported around the world by only the highest trained and best pilots in the world.