Surprisingly few Qantas FEOs took up the retraining option in 1987. I can't remember how many applied, but it was nowhere near the more than 100 eligible. In the event, only 27 went to Bankstown for the retraining package starting in 1989. There were a few more who did a different scheme some years later.
This retraining option was not the reason AIFEA joined AIPA - FEO numbers were projected to fall through the floor and we simply couldn't afford to "go it alone" any longer.