Join the dots
Something big is up. That seems certain. Too much chatter to be anything less.
I keep hearing repeated references to a restructure focused on two distinct fleets. The comments above about a new A330 base in Perth and 10 new birds only serves to confirm this.
Based on chatter new fleets likely to be:
Long haul/international A380 - (#747)
Short haul/regional/domestic 737 800 - A330 300/200 - (#767)
# NB As we all know the 747 only has a few years left at best and it appears from all indications that the 767 will be disappearing perhaps as early as next year. Or close to it. Lots of talk too about VR packages being 2-3 times recent payouts to encourage 30/40 year veterans to walk - which is where the main cost of being a legacy carrier resides.
At present the 767 and A330 A/C work across both international and domestic networks and consequently are operated by cabin crew from both divisions.
I'm being told from several sources the new fleets will see cabin crew locked onto the aircraft within one fleet only. Meaning they will fly where ever the aircraft flies. As distinct from now where 'short haul' cabin crew will operate an A330 within Australia, but 'international' crew will operate it to Asia.
Perhaps the old legacy terms we have always used for short/long haul - domestic/international are acting like blinkers preventing us from thinking outside the box about how the fleets might be restructured.
If what I suspect eventuates the new fleets might be better thought of as (or labelled) 'Regional' (domestic and Asia) and 'Long Haul' (being LA,Dallas,LHR and Dubai).
The 787 would then fit very neatly into the new Long Haul fleet and allow for retirement of the 747s and growing new routes from Dubai into Europe.
So instead of actually shutting the current long haul division down they might just be shrinking it be just the A380 and an ever decreasing rump of old 747 gristle - crew on legacy conditions.
Who knows they might go nuclear and bone' the whole 747 problem early and operate a purely A380 fleet until the 787 arrives and they can then crew it as cheaply as the A380.
We'll know soon enough -It will probably all be announced the night of the election.
Last edited by mrbigbird; 3rd Aug 2013 at 13:29.