G'day Hoss
Great to hear that you are enjoying your change of cockpit (& airline). Sounds like the grass is truly greener.
For the guys who haven't done the sums, think about the following:-
Qantas has ordered 65 firm B787's + 20 options (which in reality are firm orders) plus 30 "expressions of interest". The additional 30 aircraft will be B787-10's (if Boeing get their act together before management lose their patience and order A350XWB's). Of the 85 "firm" aircraft, 15 will go to Jetstar and, for mainline, there will be 15 B787-8's requiring 83 Captains & 83 F/O's, plus 55 B787-9's requiring 385 Captains, 385 F/O's & approx 700 S/O's. That's over 1600 pilots before we consider the B787-10 (210 captains, 210 F/O's & approx 400 S/O's) (not including training captains/F/O's). That totals almost 2500 pilots, ie more than the current Qantas pilot establishment.
If you look ahead to 2015, in addition to the 115 B787's mentioned above, there will be 20 A380's, 9 B744's, 22 A330's, and 65-70 B737's - another 1900+ pilots. Qantas mainline is screaming for pilots and will take every one who meets the minimum standards (They won't admit it but they have lowered the Phsyometric Aptitude score that is acceptable). With 200 retirements in the same period, that means that 2100 pilots will have to be recuited in that period - ie 300 per annum through to 2015.
I haven't touched on the huge demand that Jetstar have for the large number of A320/1's plus B787's that have been ordered.
What I am trying to say is - Oz pilots are in the strongest industrial position that they have ever been in. We are over due for having a Qantas Group pilot career progression which allows individuals to choose the type of flying that suits their lifestyle. It's great that the Jetstar pilots rejected their EBA and consequentially they will achieve a higher remuneration in the long run.
Last edited by Going Boeing; 8th February 2008 at 17:42.