Whilst the show did compose of a heap of sensationalist, half truth comments that anyone in the industry could poke holes through in a second, it does present a very pertinent point: Is Qantas using it's good name and Australian staff to paint the appearance of an Australian airline with a first class safety record whilst doing the shifty and employing cheap overseas labour? and if it is what are we going to do about it?
Steve Purvinas,
Is comments such as "it's only a matter of time till an aeroplane hits the side of a hill" really necessary? Honest question, is it a calculated give to make your message 'media worthy'?, I highly doubt your professional opinion would associate a Flap Transit Failure to the Garuda Jogjakarta unstable approach runway overrun however I also have my doubts as to wether TT would have picked up the segment without these 'claims'.
Steve, have you considered talking to and joining fronts with AIPA? It would seem both AIPA and ALEA have a very similar agenda. With your media awareness and a united front, even without the legal ground to prevent jobs going overseas, together the unions could send a very clear message to the Qantas board about keeping the Australian Spirit, Australian. I feel media awareness has been very effective in keeping Qantas maintenance onshore (evidenced by the amount of media attention Qantas gave the Brissy 330 base) and only hope that it would be as effective in ensuring pilots jobs are kept onshore as well.
Cheers,
MHA