Balance
Let's not let this opportunity pass to get some closure in all the areas, not just 1989....
What should the Impulse drivers have done when their airline was bought?
What should a pilot do when JQ offers him a job but Qantas doesn't? It's not illegal to have a low cost subsidiary. There was no IFALPA recruitment ban and many QF pilots crossed over within a short time to get quick commands. So exactly what should a pilot do when he receives the job offer knowing that he cannot ever expect to join those on the QF EBA?
The Qantas Board, which runs a whole suite of AOC-holding operations, took a view, quite legal, that they would set up the JQ operation and pursue their pan-Asian strategy. Time will tell whether that is good strategy or not. But it is not illegal and if that is where the jobs are then what should pilots do?
For me....and only me....I have my own standards. I would not cross an AIPA (or indeed AFAP or any other union) picket line. I would not apply for a job where there was an IFALPA recruitment ban. And if QF drivers were on strike to get a scope clause then I would not fly with Qantas. If I were a Qantas EBA pilot and my union AIPA had a ban on transfers to JQ then I would not apply for a transfer. If I were an AFAP pilot with JQ and the union had a ban on transfers to JQ Asia or indeed QF I would follow that ban.
But that's only me. I have never taken a job overseas or Australia where the local union wasn't happy and yes I have always checked.
But I can't answer for everyone. 1989 is etched in my soul so that guides anything I would do or helps me explain to anyone who asks. But what exactly is your advice in retrospect to each individual who got a job offer from Jetstar knowing that there were no other jobs available?