These guys have sucked the company for all they can muster and now there is a hint of trouble they are pulling the pin in fear of their superannuation entitlements.
Outside Limits. You obviously don't understand the personal account based Superannuation we have in Australia. Retirement benefit is independent of the employer's fortunes, if you are near retirement. Qantas could crash and burn tomorrow and it would not effect the Superannuation benefit calculation tomorrow of any pilot over 60. Most have their Super in 'a galaxy far away' from Qantas anyway, just to make the outcome doubly certain.
Yes, there was a bump in retirements for a time last year. Shared Blank Lines coming in had a lot to do with it, I reckon. Most older guys had done more than their fair share of Blank Lines earlier in their careers. Why do that again! Disenchantment with the direction this once great Company is being steered is another reason. Whether with intent or whether it is just one huge stuff up seems not entirely clear to any of us. Just read the last 120 pages here.
And I think some senior guys have realised the rapid changes lately in cockpit technology [Ipads for everything] have had unintended consequences that they are not comfortable with. With wireless delivery, there just isn't the contact with people anymore in the flight planning process and elsewhere. It is becoming extremely difficult to winkle out any additional information about anything from anyone these days. The communications pathways have become pretty obscure and remote. No longer can you just walk over to the person in the IOC you know has the information and ask him/her.
Well, I'll put my hand up and say I've done over 40 years in QF. 20 as a S/O and F/O then, taking the earliest available Command slot, the remainder as Captain. Every day of that 40+ years, I've done my very best to keep the travelling public in my care safe and secure. No matter which seat I was sitting in at the time. That's not the slightest unusual. Nearly everyone I meet at work is doing just that. I suppose, in the spirit of the principles of free speech, I'll have to defend your right to say "I've sucked the company for all I can muster". I just vigorously disagree with your statement. In fact, I don't pay any attention to my payslips any more. I'm not here for the money. If that's how you think, perhaps you need a reality check.