[QUOTE]JETSTAR has been bombarded with hundreds of signed emails from its pilots, warning that the airline is placing the lives of passengers and flight crews at risk in its bid to force new pilots on to ''deficient'' group contracts.
At close of business yesterday, more than 320 of Jetstar's pool of about 400 pilots had written to the airline's group chief executive, Brian Buchanan.
Many of the emails had also been copied to Alan Joyce, the chief executive of Jetstar's parent company, Qantas - which was dealing with its own crisis after a flight from Singapore had to be diverted to Adelaide yesterday because the plane was not carrying enough fuel to reach its Melbourne destination.
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About 50 angry pilots did make it to Melbourne, however, to attend a heated meeting with Jetstar's Australia and New Zealand boss, David Hall. A similar meeting, where senior executives will address pilots' working conditions and safety concerns, is scheduled for Sydney today.
Pilots say the move to force recruits on to contracts outside the enterprise bargaining agreement will lead to distracting conflict on the flight deck and in the long-term a more inexperienced workforce, ill-equipped to handle mid-air emergencies.
Captain Michael Danaher, a senior Airbus A320 captain who has been with Jetstar since its inception, said the new contracts, which offer less pay and poorer working conditions for new pilots, represented a short-sighted grab for immediate financial gain which would compromise the airline's safety standards and result in long-term damage to its reputation.
''On a daily basis, my crew and I are constantly blocking errors and threats to the safety of our aircraft, staff and passengers,'' he said in an email to Jetstar senior executives. ''We need skilled crew on the flight deck with ample experience to do this rather than pilots with little experience.''
Another email seen by the Herald, by Captain James Matthews, warns that morale among the pilots is at an all-time low.
''I am worried that this will start to have safety impacts on the operation as this issue is all that people are talking about and everyone is so angry, and this leads to a huge distraction in the flight deck.''
The secretary of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Steve Anderson, said the new contracts, under which cadets could accumulate a training debt of $150,000 to the airline while earning as little as $34,000 a year, would place Jetstar at the bottom of the international scale and would lead to transient, less experienced pilots.
''This is not about money; it's about terms and conditions of employment and how it is now becoming a safety factor,'' Captain Anderson said.
Jetstar's spokesman, Simon Westaway, said passenger safety would in no way be compromised. He confirmed the airline had received a large number of pilots' emails in the past four days.
Mr Westaway rejected allegations Jetstar had used up all the goodwill Mr Joyce often cited as the airline group's biggest asset.
''Part of our secret of success is that we have always had open discourse [with staff],'' he said. ''The meetings occurring have been very constructive … and we will continue to have direct dialogue.''[QUOTE]
At least its getting into the media now.
Surely the X man and his senators will do something about this. Its not like its one or 2 pilots complaining....its 320 out of 400!!