Longhaul…
I’ve also experienced pilots from many places in the world, and I can REALLY assure you that Qantas home attitudes have a long way to go. The Qantas pilot outside of Australia is a completely different animal to the one in domestic airspace.
Going Boeing…
Your mate was winding you up…Ansett and Qantas were the same , never give the ATC anything! Obviously to your management, we are below floor sweepers and travel agents, and are not in the “Industry”.
A couple of “for instances”…
The guys that used to run the Westwinds out of Perth to Telfer used to put on a bash each year and invite the ATC’s. Great party, good to meet the drivers face to face etc etc. The upshot was that they received direct tracking more than anybody else, saved them about 2-3 minutes per leg…at least 6 legs per day, 365 days per year…do the sums.
A British Airways pilot having just been tracked from Karatha direct to a 6 mile final RWY21 in Perth asked me if any other airlines gave us free or discounted travel…no I said. He replied with “I thought we got a particularly good service in this country”
Now put thinking caps on….BA and QF arrive at the edge of the screen at the same time…who is going to land first? Hmmm? I wonder.
Channel 7 used to throw parties that ATC’s were invited to as well (can’t say if it still happens, haven’t been in Perth for a long while), and they only had one helicopter, but they appreciated the amount of work that they caused and were happy to a bit of
PR. But then again they have competition don’t they?
Just my 100 baisas worth…