2. The next third goes to equipment leases, navigation and landing fees, terminal fees, insurance, catering supplies, maintenance and repair costs etc.
What were we doing for a decade to track the engineering expenses? I have seen with my own eyes that customer recharge forms filled out for work carried out on Jetstar A/C have been binned. I have heard that the practice was widespread. I have heard this from engineers and accountants. When I raised the issue I was told by someone involved in writing the contracts that a certain level of maintenance was included in the contract, so recharge forms did not need completion, and when they were completed by some conscientious engineer ignorant of the finer details of the contract, they were binned. I asked the question why over the last several years haven't we been told what to bill for and what not to bill for, and that time was money and our time is being wasted needlessly completing recharge forms, I was given the blank look that said "OH F#@K." So what was being done to track maintenance carried out vs maintenance included in the contract? We all know the answer to that. Accountants, contract lawyers etc would not know a B-nut from a peanut. What education was provided to engineers and our lower and middle management on the contract inclusions and exclusions? The answer: none. What training was provided to accountants and contract lawyers etc on the finer points of engineering? My guess is none. So not only were Qantas Engineering's expenses higher than Jetstar's, but either our productivity was further eroded by filling out forms we supposedly did not need to fill out and ended up being trashed by the accountants, or Qantas Engineering's contract profitability was not being maximised by a truer reflection of the maintenance carried out on Jetstar A/C, thus increasing the apparent profitability of Jetstar.
Only in the last year or so have we in Engineering seen posters plastered all over the walls saying in effect "When working on Jetstar A/C book everything to expense code Jxxxxxx". And now we regularly see customer recharge forms being completed. And now we hear that Jetstar's cost base has risen and is "higher than it should be". Perhaps, at least from an Engineering perspective, it's because the true cost of actually running an airline is starting to be sheeted home?