“To blame pilot salaries”.
You will note that at no stage have I attempted to place “blame” on any employee group for anything.
“The make or break difference to the Qantas group”
No, I did not suggest that salary levels enjoyed by staff at QF would “make or break” the airline. Managers at Qantas, like any business, make decisions every day that are motivated by business reasons that have nothing to do with saving the airline. Qantas has been profitable despite having a high labor cost base and cutting pilot costs alone is probably not an imperative. But the stakeholders in Qantas have charged the CEO and his underlings with trimming the operating cost of the airline and this will inevitably involve reducing the cost of all labor groups. Where costs savings can be made, they will be made if possible. As I said, reducing the salary levels of pilots is not a “make or break” decision. However, National Jet, Virgin Blue and Jetstar have proven that there is room in the “new”market place for reducing the cost of cockpit crew to the business. This will occur.
“The Company says that by the beginning of next year the Qantas group will have a lower cost base than rival Virgin Blue”
This is pretty much what Dixon is expected to say to a business audience keen to see Qantas trimming costs. Do you really think QF will match the operating costs of Virgin Blue without some extensive creative accounting (which is precisely what Dixon is doing)?
“For your information, Southwest pilots are paid more than etc etc”
This little gem highlights the simplistic approach taken by most pilots when debating such an issue. I did not suggest SWA pilots were poorly paid, I did, however, refer to the value they provide their employer. These are two very different things. What do Qantas pilots provide Qantas that a more cost effective Jetstar pilot doesn't?
“Jetstar and Qantas pilots both deserve etc etc”
No. Wrong. Employees do not DESERVE anything except for the pay and conditions that the market place sees fit. The airline industry in Australia has for most of its history been a protected one and as such the market place has had little impact on the competitiveness of employees. These barriers have been virtually (but not entirely) removed and yet pilots such as yourself are naive enough to think you deserve a salary level as determined by . . . .yourself. Its not the strongest that survive, or the smartest.
Its the most adaptable.