Red Rat Integration

[Mud Skipper]

What's in it for the company?

Currently they are doing their best to split flight operations into a duplex, where both longhaul and shorthaul there is the traditional Qantas operation crewed by AIPA pilots and the other crewed by effectly non union pilots. Management will play these groups off against each other for many EBA's to come.

Consider the introduction of the 737-800, an aircraft which is up to 50% bigger than the 737-300. The company used the stick that it would go to a subsiduary if conditions where not in their favour, AIPA agreed to the same pay and conditions to fly this significantly larger aircraft and even allowed the company to effectly not pay the pilots for the training.

The A330, conditions understood to be so bad and ill defined that many pilots will not bid for the type. Pay only slightly better than a 737 for Captain. Bids were to close even before conditions were known, perhaps because so few applied that the company has been forced to extend to the 20th, I wonder if they'll have the conditions available before then? General contempt may be shown to the pilot body thought - it's OK we have two of them.

Austrlian Airlines, yep, slash the conditions so only very junior 767 types will go and then get the rest of the crews off the street, I'm sure they won't be joining AIPA.

Now the chess board is set, let's see one of those pilot groups try a move, it's checkmate and AIPA is about to lose the entire game unless they can regroup these factions under the one leadership. They don't appear interested though, the game of attrition continues and management wins the game.

Perhaps when things reach the line at the 744 cockpit door?