Wirraway
12th Jan 2005, 14:35
Thurs "Sydney Morning Herald"
Bigger role for budget carrier
By Scott Rochfort
January 13, 2005
Qantas subsidiary Australian Airlines is pushing for its flight attendants to fly longer routes, prompting speculation the Flying Kangaroo wants to cede more of its struggling international routes to the low-cost carrier it established in 2002.
Talks between Australian Airlines and the Flight Attendants Association over a new enterprise bargaining agreement have hit a snag, partly over the airline's plans to tear up an agreement which restricts its 300 flight attendants to fly only to destinations which, in terms of international time zones, are within four hours of Cairns.
"That obviously means their intention is to fly their crews longer range and, if that's the case, the crews have to be remunerated like other long-haul cabin crews," said the secretary of the FAAA's International Division, Michael Mijatov.
Australian's cabin crews are paid a maximum salary of $40,000 a year, and the FAAA wants an extra two pay brackets with 4 per cent increments.
The talks breakdown has raised fears of strike action, with Australian failing to compromise on the FAAA's request for crews to "bid" for work as do their Qantas mainline counterparts, as opposed to being allocated rosters.
There is talk Australian is looking at taking over Qantas services to Honolulu (which is four hours from Cairns - not within four hours in terms of time zone) and even introducing services to India (4 ½ hours behind).
Mr Mijatov said the union would not oppose the removal of the four-hour time-zone cap if the airline offered better pay rates.
The airline's destinations from Australia include Hong Kong, Singapore, Sabah, Bali and the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Nagoya.
"It's just unfortunate that Australian Airlines management have adopted an inflexible approach to the outstanding issues," Mr Mijatov said.
"If they proceed with that attitude it's highly likely that cabin crews will have no alternative but to take industrial action."
Qantas head of human resources Kevin Brown said he found it "utterly puzzling" the FAAA would not agree to the removal of the time-zone cap, given it would open up new growth opportunities and markets for Australian.
Mr Brown said Australian's fleet of five 767-300s had the range to fly well beyond the four-hour time zone limit but he added the airline had no immediate plans to expand its routes.
As for the union's claims for better pay in return for working on longer flights, Mr Brown said: "They already get paid to work certain hours. This is by the hour, not by length of trip."
The union says Australian's crews received 30 per cent less pay for the hours they worked than their Qantas counterparts.
Mr Brown said Australian had offered its flight crews a 3 per cent yearly pay rise, but would not buckle on the FAAA's push for crews to have the freedom to choose ("bid") for their rosters.
"These are very complex systems that we've got to put in place and they are extraordinarily expensive to maintain," he said.
Qantas also expressed disappointment the FAAA was talking to the Herald about the unresolved talks. "Certainly it was a surprise for me that they have chosen to go public," Mr Brown said.
There is also a possibility Qantas could hand over its fleet of ageing 747-300s to help Australian's expansion.
CommSec analyst Matt Crowe said Australian's expansion plans might have been reinvigorated by Jetstar's success in taking over Qantas's low-yielding domestic leisure-oriented routes.
"They [Qantas] have got to look at addressing some of the areas where they do not make money and putting in low-cost services is one way of doing it," he said.
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Bigger role for budget carrier
By Scott Rochfort
January 13, 2005
Qantas subsidiary Australian Airlines is pushing for its flight attendants to fly longer routes, prompting speculation the Flying Kangaroo wants to cede more of its struggling international routes to the low-cost carrier it established in 2002.
Talks between Australian Airlines and the Flight Attendants Association over a new enterprise bargaining agreement have hit a snag, partly over the airline's plans to tear up an agreement which restricts its 300 flight attendants to fly only to destinations which, in terms of international time zones, are within four hours of Cairns.
"That obviously means their intention is to fly their crews longer range and, if that's the case, the crews have to be remunerated like other long-haul cabin crews," said the secretary of the FAAA's International Division, Michael Mijatov.
Australian's cabin crews are paid a maximum salary of $40,000 a year, and the FAAA wants an extra two pay brackets with 4 per cent increments.
The talks breakdown has raised fears of strike action, with Australian failing to compromise on the FAAA's request for crews to "bid" for work as do their Qantas mainline counterparts, as opposed to being allocated rosters.
There is talk Australian is looking at taking over Qantas services to Honolulu (which is four hours from Cairns - not within four hours in terms of time zone) and even introducing services to India (4 ½ hours behind).
Mr Mijatov said the union would not oppose the removal of the four-hour time-zone cap if the airline offered better pay rates.
The airline's destinations from Australia include Hong Kong, Singapore, Sabah, Bali and the Japanese cities of Tokyo, Sapporo, Fukuoka, Osaka and Nagoya.
"It's just unfortunate that Australian Airlines management have adopted an inflexible approach to the outstanding issues," Mr Mijatov said.
"If they proceed with that attitude it's highly likely that cabin crews will have no alternative but to take industrial action."
Qantas head of human resources Kevin Brown said he found it "utterly puzzling" the FAAA would not agree to the removal of the time-zone cap, given it would open up new growth opportunities and markets for Australian.
Mr Brown said Australian's fleet of five 767-300s had the range to fly well beyond the four-hour time zone limit but he added the airline had no immediate plans to expand its routes.
As for the union's claims for better pay in return for working on longer flights, Mr Brown said: "They already get paid to work certain hours. This is by the hour, not by length of trip."
The union says Australian's crews received 30 per cent less pay for the hours they worked than their Qantas counterparts.
Mr Brown said Australian had offered its flight crews a 3 per cent yearly pay rise, but would not buckle on the FAAA's push for crews to have the freedom to choose ("bid") for their rosters.
"These are very complex systems that we've got to put in place and they are extraordinarily expensive to maintain," he said.
Qantas also expressed disappointment the FAAA was talking to the Herald about the unresolved talks. "Certainly it was a surprise for me that they have chosen to go public," Mr Brown said.
There is also a possibility Qantas could hand over its fleet of ageing 747-300s to help Australian's expansion.
CommSec analyst Matt Crowe said Australian's expansion plans might have been reinvigorated by Jetstar's success in taking over Qantas's low-yielding domestic leisure-oriented routes.
"They [Qantas] have got to look at addressing some of the areas where they do not make money and putting in low-cost services is one way of doing it," he said.
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