Qantas must be starting to “give 2 ****s” cause 737 open time this month is full of 717 flying.
Use of contractors is common practice; generates leverage against work forces and lowers unit cost whilst hoodwinking the paying passenger that the service standard is the same (hence the ticket price)
Sadly as the USA witnessed with Colgan Air 3407, airline management step away from accountability when the incessant push to lower terms and conditions generates big problems. Unlike Australia the FAA acted.
Protected Industrial Action is very difficult to take in many western economies, withdrawal of labour often impossible. Secondary boycott ensures unions are impotent to drive change. Didn't Qantas pilots take industrial action protected by Fair Work provisions only to have the government (who passed the legislation) side with management?
I personally applaud the Cobham pilots attempting to better their terms and conditions. The time is now, demographics and structural shortage can help get back what adversarial IR stripped away.
As for the 737 flying, replacing the 717, playing one group off against each other is management MO, one can simply not be available to help out management and step around it that way..
