Qantas ‘pressures’ pilots to save on fuel
news.com.au
QANTAS pilots flying the flagship Airbus A380 super jumbos are being pressured to carry less fuel on long-haul flights in a cost-cutting measure to reduce the airline’s soaring fuel bills.
Company insiders have revealed a campaign - which includes charts ranking pilots based on fuel usage - that is increasing the risk of*flights being diverted because they could not safely reach their*destinations.
Two*flights were forced to divert with fuel issues in the past week. A Melbourne-bound A380 was redirected to Adelaide on Tuesday after crew discovered it had burnt through too much*fuel.
A*flight from London to Singapore was forced to land in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday because it had inadequate spare fuel to circle Singapore while a storm*cleared.
The*airline yesterday denied the diversions were solely the result of planes not carrying enough*fuel.
But documents obtained by The Daily Telegraph reveal that in the past two years the amount of “discretionary fuel” - carried on board*flights to deal with emergencies, unforeseen bad weather and airport delays - has been almost*halved.
The documents also show*flights landing at Singapore and Melbourne - the two destinations to suffer diversions this week - on average landed with the least amount of remaining fuel of any Qantas A380*flights.
A pilot said yesterday the document, which ranks pilots based on how much fuel they take on board, was putting “subtle pressure” on*crews.
“The*airline is trying to save money, knowing that a lot of our pilots will see it as a challenge and compete with each other,” he*said.
He said the reductions in discretionary fuel - which save the*airline about $3000 on each*flight - would lead to more delays due to weather or other unforeseen*problems.
Adjunct senior lecturer at the UNSW School of Aviation Peter Marosszeky, who has almost 50 years experience in the sector, said that while the fuel*policy had no impact on safety, it increased the chance of passengers being*inconvenienced.
A Qantas spokesman confirmed the company was looking at ways to reduce fuel costs but denied it had any impact on*services.
“It is entirely appropriate that, within our carefully managed*policies and procedures, pilots are encouraged to closely monitor discretionary fuel*uplift,” he*said.