Not true was in Sing , last Nov & saw the SO as part of a 747 crew , think they were going to Bris. See SOs there all the time actually
Are there actually any routes that the A330 flies on where they actually need a SO , same for the A380 run up to HK
The unpalatable truth is that QF is overmanned to quite bizarre levels, and the use of three pilot crews when the competition is using two pilot crews would be costing tens of millions per year. You have about 200 SOs for the A330 , very very few routes the A330 flies on actually requires an SO
Then you pay them twice the industry average , average QF SO $200K , whereas for Cathay , Virgin (yes based in Australia also) , ANZ all pay around $100k.
If Jetstar strike a pay deal for their SOs of under $100k , well I think there will be a whole lot more 787s going to Jetstar instead of Qantas.
But when they get into trouble QF just tries to fleabag on the Aussie tax payer with Govt Secured loans & stuff