May I have a link to the IATA 1-4% paper please? Even if that captures Qantas, do you reckon we are closer to 1 or 4%? Which full service airline has a tech crew cost of only 1%? The problem for Qantas is that on Dallas to SYD type sectors, the tech crew costs on those sectors go WAY above 4% and sometimes above 10% - that's presumably why they want to do away with planned O/T but agree to a rate higher than the A380 for a plane half the size. Making those routes profitable is in all of our interests and getting paid more than 744 pilots when it does shorter sectors is a good bonus to boot. I do know that in terms of manpower costs (remembering that fuel costs are hard to differentiate between airlines), pilots are approx 25% of Qantas' total.
"Can you tell me what other reputable airlines have had to accept B scales to introduce new types recently? "
I can tell you that dozens or airlines have either gone through chapter 11, bankruptcy, furloughs and forced redundancy. See the USA, Japan, Cathay A to C sclae, BA restructure and many many more. Personally I would rather reached a sensible negotiated outcome to the structural problems in international airlines versus having a bankruptcy court decide my terms and having no say at all like many of these pilots at those airlines went through. Look at what is happening at MAS right now - they are effectively tearing up their contracts and making everyone reapply for jobs. Who would have predicted that only 18 months ago.
The CEO pay is just an emotional distraction and largely irrelevant. Don't let it raise your blood pressure. Lyell and Hickey were well paid while they were there but you can see how quickly they get shown the door - it's about 100 times harder to get ride of a LH pilot. Especially a senior one.