The simple fact is that the arrival of
VB was the “Pilot Strike of ‘00”, absolutely mirroring the issues behind the ’89 strike. If
VB had arrived on our shores in ’89 would all of the pilots have resigned on mass? The reality is that what AN and TN tried to do in ’89 was exactly what
VB accomplished in ’00 and yet many pilots meekly accepted the new order of Australian aviation this time around. Low salaries and conditions were accepted without challenge – all for the chance of a pilot job. I don’t see the bitter ‘89ers complaining about the
VB pilots who joined in ’00, and yet their reason for joining was the same as those who crossed the line and returned to work in ’89. If you want to claim a moral high ground guys, then you should be consistent; under your theory the first crews inducted into the
VB ranks in ’00 were also sc*bs.
However, what didn’t happen in ’89 and did in ’00 was the erosion of flight and engineering standards. If any of you don’t believe that Australia is now a less safe place to fly because of
VB then you are absolutely kidding yourselves.
VB pilot ranks are made up of inexperienced crews with enthusiasm and technical expertise who know enough to get them into trouble, and very experienced crews who right now would feel distinctly uncomfortable that the subtle and inherent risks have increased in what they understand is a dangerous business. All I can say is thank god for the experienced guys amongst them, and that for the most part Australia is a fair-weather environment. More than anything I hope that the inexperienced guys know their limitations.
The price of bringing
VB to our shore is understanding that the base line of standards, safety and integrity has now changed forever. Every current airline in Australia will use the new low base-line set by
VB as the measure for their own operation (read QF). And when the 3rd airline comes along, as it most assuredly will, they too will work from the new, bottom of the pile,
VB baseline. What you saw as an overt attack in ’89, has actually been affected, much more insidiously in ’00 – and you didn’t even see it coming.
The kitchen isn’t too hot for me – I have seen all this before overseas, particularly in the U.S., and with much bigger players. The bitterness and anger that you often show amongst each other on these threads is a sign of the distortion created by the changing scene of everything you ever held true as professional pilots. Were you more honest and alert to your ever changing, ever diminishing environment then you as a group would openly admit the consequences of
VB in your world. Once you see that it is the commercial world that will always seek to flatten the complexity of the operational world (because complexity means cost) then you may unite to set a standard. Operating standards aren’t set by unions; and Regulators will only ever set minimum standards. You as Pilots know the level of standards required here in Australia. If only you could all talk.
Those that snipe at Ansett and QANTAS and mock things that they did - you obviously never worked anywhere else. These 2 carriers contributed as much to world aviation standards as Pan –Am and TWA. I 100% agree that in the ‘00’s they are/were inefficient, bureaucratic, bumbling, process-laden giants that really needed a good clean out to be fit for the ‘00’s. Trouble is the management wasn’t/isn’t experienced enough, and the Unions not open minded enough.
The state of the industry in Australia today was inevitable – it’s written in the history of European and US aviation. Every time you arrogantly laugh that AN had a flight engineers panel, or that AN’s HF course was b/s – well, by identifying isolated issues you deny the huge achievements that some of you made to create such a professional aviation environment for so long. You seem to forget that your actions in the latter years have actually done more to undermine your industry than anything ever before – including ’89.
Go back 5 years – ask AN and QF what they would say about their Pilots – they’d say - “the best in the world”.
Ask Branson what he thinks about Pilots – he’ll say only one thing – “expensive”.
Ask Dixon what he thinks about Pilots – he’ll say – “I need to get them down to
VB’s level”.