Dixon`s Follies

[DEFCON4]

The Profit at QF over the last few years would have been much greater except for :
1.$200mil wasted on QF Business Eq IT platform ..it still doesn`t work
2.$150mil wasted on upgrading the classic...who notices the difference?
3.$250mil wasted on the IFE system....still doesnt work
4.$60mil wasted on Jet*Asia..still bleeding arterial red ink
5.$50mil wasted on AO...its now folded back into mainline as wetlease
6.$45mil... the decline in Jet* profit 2005/2006.
7.The mis match of Airbus A330 200/300s to routes
On the other hand :
1. Staff have agreed to wage freezes......SARS and 911
2.The introduction of casuals
3.The introduction of Partime
4.The introduction of AKL LHR and BKK bases.
5.The reduction of crew complements fleet wide.
On balance you can see that QF employees are being made to pay for the incompetence of management.
Yet these individuals still continue to reward themselves.
No One is more concerned about the survival of QF than its employees.
Employees are in for the longhaul.
How many managerial faces will still be around in 5 years?The revolving door in operation!!
I feel sorry for the poor bugger who takes over from Dixon...it will be a bloody large mess to clean up :( :(

[argus.moon]

Dixon is so grateful to staff for the sacrifices that they have made he is rewarding them....WITH AWAs.
Helluva guy that Goof...er sorry Geoff. :D

[speedbirdhouse]

A comprehensive list of honours there Defcon4.

Don't forget the $100 million or so spent on the brand new A330s converting the galleys for longrange operation after QF worked out that they couldn't be used effectively on shorthaul ops.

Easy fix that one.
Just sack a few more staff and send a few more jobs offshore.:mad: :mad: :mad:

As for rebuilding after the lowlife has left.
I'm not so sure that there will be anything left to rebuild.

[Sunfish]

The floggings will continue until morale improves.........

[max autobrakes]

How about the story doing the rounds about the A330 captain ,the one with the "KILLER" nickname ,up in Shanghai who after the inbound aircraft went around (back to Hong Kong I believe) was left with a group of upset passengers. This chap pulled out all stops and he and the rest of the crew did a stirling job in turning around a potential PR disaster for Qantas.
A letter to Dixon from a CIP passenger/customer praising this captain with the "Killer"of a nickname meant dispatches were despatched down the food chain of command to the appropriate manager to reward said chap in the appropriate Qantas way. Well , said manager who has a name like that castaway basketball called this particular captain in and proceeded to tell him that he was made of the right stuff.
Keep up the good work, Qantas looks after loyal employees, calls made to the finance department,
a big production made with the presentation of this gift for a job well done.
Said Captain departs said managers office feeling suitably proud of a job well done and then opens the piece of paper presented to him as a token of Qantas' eternal gratitude.
Guess what it was???
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It was a voucher for a Latte at the cafe downstairs.
Got to love the largesse that just oozes from every pore of the Qantas beast don't you! :{

[Sunfish]

I thought it might be an invoice for the extra expense.....

[hotnhigh]

Might have been worse.....Could have been for a cappachino

[Reeltime]

On point 7 in Defcon's post, wasn't this caused by the business class floor in the 200's being unsuitable for the international configuration?

As the aircraft were initially to be used domestically, a bean counter saved some bucks by not having the original floor specified to the required strength for bigger international J class seats.

Anyone have a dollar figure for that little gem?

Happened on Dixon's watch, he's got to accept responsibility.

For that and the rest of Defcons points, I'm sure Geoff will be happy to provide an explanation to the shareholders. :rolleyes:

[mach2male]

I used to:
1.Always vote to extend my duty hours..not any more
2.Never use my transport entitlement...I do now...always
3.Sign on early...not any more
4.Occasionally assist on my days off...not any more.
5.Dry clean my uniform once a month..now its after every trip
6.Write ICANS...not any more
7.Onsell the QF product.....not any more...Everyone should fly somoene else.
8.Push Duty Free hard....not any more.
9.Suggest ways of reducing costs...not any more.
10.Apologize for management service failures....now its with French or Duty Free.
Multiply my small act of passive resistance by even a few hundred and it has an impact on the bottom line and hopefully on someone`s bonus.
I do my job well...but not as well as I used to.
The passengers benefit but certainly not the management :ouch: :ouch: :ouch:

[The_Cutest_of_Borg]

Happened on Dixon's watch, he's got to accept responsibility.:
Dixon was also the guy whose face fell when told personally by an A330 crew that he was wrong about the soon-to-arrive A330-300's having a longer range than the -200's.
If that doesn't tell you something about the way QF is being run......

[maui]

What about the rather expensive rebuild of the BKK golf buggy.

Or was that on the bow tied idiot's watch.

Maui

[Pass-A-Frozo]

You'd best get used to it. (or move to Japan, or continental Europe)
Survey of 399 managers from 5 countries. You'll probably find Aussie managers responses are similar to UK and USA.
Question: What is more important, Jobs or paying Dividends?
http://www.pix8.net/pro/pic/22566YZJUl/934495.jpg

[Sunfish]

Mach2male has it to a tee. GD's actions have a ten year timeframe before they affect performance. Flight and Cabin crew have an immediate effect on profitability. Only difference is that it is impossible to measure the repeat business gained/lost by cabin crew/flight crew.

I know which is more important, and it ain't Dixon's pronunciamentos.

[RENURPP]

I used to:
1.Always vote to extend my duty hours..not any more
2.Never use my transport entitlement...I do now...always
3.Sign on early...not any more
4.Occasionally assist on my days off...not any more.
5.Dry clean my uniform once a month..now its after every trip
6.Write ICANS...not any more
7.Onsell the QF product.....not any more...Everyone should fly somoene else.
8.Push Duty Free hard....not any more.
9.Suggest ways of reducing costs...not any more.
10.Apologize for management service failures....now its with French or Duty Free.
Multiply my small act of passive resistance by even a few hundred and it has an impact on the bottom line and hopefully on someone`s bonus.
I do my job well...but not as well as I used to.
The passengers benefit but certainly not the management


Exactly, and I suspect this attitude is the extremely common at present and not just on mainline. Very bloody sad isn't it.

[Beg Tibs]

I dont care anymore.....One can only do so much to help out so much before one doesnt care.....

89 is coming.....

Im outta here

[captainrats]

It would appear that only those lower down the foodchain are accountable for anything.
Dixon and his crew have made some enormous stuff ups.
The Dame should have made him responsible but she doesnt know what the hell is going on.
No care No Responsibility :The world of QF management.
Get paid a bonus for screwing up...no wonder Dixon stays:bored:

[Lodown]

DEFCON4, you should add on all the salaries, bonuses, super and associated costs of those managers responsible for the stuffups too.

[Le 3rd Homme]

Interesting that none of this stuff ever hits the media.
A large advertising budget certainly carries a lot of sway,particularly when you want to cover up wholesale incompetence.
What body is responsible for maintaining corporate governance standards ?
A barrage of correspondence may do some good(sic)?:suspect:

[Pass-A-Frozo]

Company results are released publicly. I guess you mean that they never hit the "mainstream" media. No surprises there. Have a think about it. When was the last time you cared or bothered to find out the in depth cashflow of say Zinifex or Coles / Myer?

[scramjet]

Riley (2003) writes that "Common Law corporate governance principles traditionally impose no obligation on company directors to consider the interests of employees when deciding how to manage the corporate enterprise. The directors duty is to regard the best interests of 'the company' and the company has been defined as the shareholders. .......The notorious case of Parke v Daily News Ltd (1962) Ch 927 held that a company director was in breach of his duty to the company (ie, shareholders) when he caused the company to pay retrenchment benefits to long-serving employees, because the company had no strictly enforceable legal obligation to make those payments".


:ugh:

[Le 3rd Homme]

I have been investing in the market for years.
Before I buy anything I spend a lot of time doing research.
When QF shares dipped below $3 I bought some having done research and determining that they were undervalued.
Nowhere did I find any mention of any of the blunders made by Dixon and their resultant impact on the bottom line.
Nothing in the general media and no mention whatsoever in any of QF publications.
Perhaps by making this information invisible they are in fact being fraudulent
Any sources of information you have PAF I would be grateful if you shared them.
Perhaps Dixon is not only incompetent but fraudulent.
This needs to be taken further I feel.

[Pass-A-Frozo]

Given I'm feeling rather mature at the moment, I'll answer with the immortal words of Butthead (from Beavis and Butthead).

"Dude, if you have to ask.. you'll never know"

[Machinegun Fellatio]

Harry Lime(The third man)
There are several people who haunt these forums who should be ignored:PAF is one of them.
You raise valid points.
Hiding information that may have an impact on a corporation`s share price is indeed fraudulent... Enron comes to mind.
Perhaps the corporate watchdog needs to take a closer look at QFs creative book keeping.
In particular the way costs and cash are apportioned in the Qantas Group.
Perhaps a quiet word with the producer of 4 Corners may lead to some interesting media excavation.
Theres a lot of behaviour at Coward Street that`s not Kosher

[Mel Bourne]

There are several people who haunt these forums who should be ignored:PAF is one of them.

Fellatio...who are these people, and why do you say this? Why is PAF's opinion to be discounted? Also, what special qualifications and qualities do you enjoy to offer such definitive and disparaging opinions?

[Machinegun Fellatio]

"Dude if you have to ask.....you`ll never know"

[Pass-A-Frozo]

Some people just can't take a joke. :} You really should place the comment in the perspective I put it in. (a joke!)

The information is there. You just can't expect it to be layed out in a format you'd like. What are you after?? A 24,567 page report detailing each cash transaction.

All I'm claiming is the information you are talking about is (almost in toto) already reflected in the share price. Do yourself a favour MGF and read up on "Market Efficiency" .

If you really think you have information the rest of the market doesn't, you should be making financial investments based on that and reaping the reward that comes from that. If you read up on the topic above you'll probably see the folly in that form of thinking.

Feel free to ignore what I say. Continue making claims based on what you think however I'm doubting you have much grounding in Financial reporting requirements of companies let alone the level of market efficiency in Australia. I'm happy to be corrected if you wish to discuss the matter. You would probably laugh if the QANTAS CFO came and started trying to explain how you should fly an approach.. Surely you must realise that you may well not fully understand financial reporting requirements let alone the effect of the information (if any - which in my opinion is NONE - The information is already in QANTAS reports submitted to the ASX) discussed here. If you don't believe me, email the above information to a business / financial reporter at a major media outlet. They would have it all over the news. Of course if they ignore you, you may wish to consider if you are just defaming people behind the safety of anonimity. Accusing company directors / senior management of criminal offences is probably a bad practice to get into.

I suspect you or any other user would not log on here and accuse someone of murder (as you may have a case to answer for legally [granted, I'm no lawyer though!] ) , why then would you log on here and accuse people of serious "white collar crimes" that have significant penalties.

It's (of course and understandable) not considered good form to log on and accuse an operator / pilot of breaching Aviation regs. I'm not sure why you would take offence to someone pointing out that the information has been released. Essentially you are claiming information relavent to the market price has been hidden from the market.

A quote of yours:
Get an MBA and you will see what,to the rest of us, is obvious.

That is the background of my posts.

[stiffwing]

P-A-F and "de drei mann"
Packer the younger is not on the QF board for his corporate attributes! Me thinks that he brings with him a certain ability to skew information released to the media as "required".

[Sunfish]

PAF, you are quite right in theory, but as my brother the magistrate would say when I argue law with him the answer is "Yes, but No".

You are absolutely right when you say information has to be disclosed continuously and that savvy market players internalise this in microseconds into the share price. Thats why there is a hiccup in the oil and gold price every time someone fires a Katyusha at Israel or a whale farts in the Persian gulf. Speculators watch markets everywhere intently and try and get their bids in a few seconds before the rest of the crowd. Its what makes markets work - Continuous reporting and accounting standards are there to provide crystalline transparency so that all punters can have a go.

However, there are three practical matters that can muddy the waters and then things get less transparent very fast.

1. Insider trading. Remember Coles announcement of possible takeover discussions last week? ASIC will be looking very very carefully at transactions surrounding the announcement time because it appears, at least on the surface, that a little bird told somebody something a wee bit too early. This is not relevent to Qantas at the moment, but the next two matters are;

2. Qantas can, in my opinion, quite safely argue that blowing $300 million on refurbishment etc. was not "material' if challenged. By "material", I mean having a discernable effect on QF's accounts. "Materiality" is an accounting concept that allows you to ignore things that are too small to effect the final accounting result or the overal assessment of the operations of the company.

For example, if a Qantas flight loses an engine and the flight continues uneventfully, is it material? Definately not. If CASA investigates and finds the engine failure resulted from ongoing systematic maintenance errors would that be material? You bet.

3. There is also the matter of analytic aviation expertise among stockbrokers. The market is small. I am not aware of any full time Australian aviation stockmarket analyst who would have the forensic and management accounting skills to be able to pierce the Qantas veil and really understand whats happening. QF could probably tell the market anything it likes and it would believe it - they've swallowed "sustainable future", which is BS because if you are not providing the required return on shareholders funds, then the share price falls until you are. (I'll leave out the distinctions between return on funds employed, weighted average cost of capital and so on).

From reading various Pprune posts and harking back to my own days playing with airline numbers, I don't think the market would be pleased if they knew the "true" situation, with players like Jetsar and others "shorn" of cross subsidies and so on.

In other words, QF could go to hell in a handbasket and the last people to know will be the market. The first people to know would be the oil companies.

[prunezeuss]

Qantas is a particularly nasty corporation.
It has contempt for its customers
It has contempt for its suppliers
It has contempt for its employees.
No wonder people post accusations of white collar crime at Qantas.Many individuals hope that its true and that Dixon and his cronies will be prosecuted.
I repeat that they HOPE that he is guilty.
He is a much despised person.
Some time ago I saw him haranguing staff in Heathrow.Apparently the seats(P/C) he wanted for himself and his wife had been allocated to commercial passengers.The expletives would have made a truck driver blush.Unacceptable behaviour from a captain of industry.
He and Strong are good friends(apparently).Talk about the odd couple

[Machinegun Fellatio]

PAF you are confusing my posts with Harry Lime`s:he invests in the stockmarket:I don`t
Further taking my posts out of context and posting them to make a point is very naughty
"get an MBA and you will see what to the rest of us is obvious...Qantas is poorly managed"
You left out the last bit ..shame on you.
I commend a book to you:Alistair Mant`s...Intelligent LeaderShip"
I should buy two one for you and one for Dixon.
Don`t make your employees the enemy...collectively they have the capacity to destroy a company and with it the CEO.
Most large corporations bend or break rules/ethics..Qantas is certainly no different.
PAF you appear to be Dixon`s champion.
From your posts you live within the military(I maybe wrong)You are therefore insulated from AWAs and are not subjected to the whims and rantings of someone like Dixon.
Walk a mile in someone elses moccasins before you lecture them.:=

[ausflying]

MGF, you're a nuff nuff.. PAF isn't championing GD, he is championing reality. You are sitting behind your keyboard (anonymously of course), making some pretty wild accusations without so much as a shread of evidence. Care to share the evidence which enables you to jump to the conclusion that QANTAS group is cooking its books?

[Syd eng]

Any truth to the rumour that QANTAS staff got a $500 Bonus today?

[Shlonghaul]

EMPLOYEE CASH BONUS

I am pleased to announce that a cash bonus of A$500 will be paid to staff
from this week. Full details about the payment and eligibility are
provided below.

The Qantas Board approved the payment in recognition of your contribution
to the Group's financial performance which, while below the record profit
for 2004/05, was achieved in an environment of record oil prices and
increased competition.

In the year ahead we will be looking to accelerate our efficiency programs
while maintaining our high standards in employee safety, customer service
and punctuality.

Your support in these endeavours is, as always, appreciated.


Geoff Dixon


Eligibility
The bonus will be paid to employees who meet the following criteria:

Must be employed by Qantas or a wholly-owned subsidiary.
Must have joined the Qantas Group before 1 January 2006.
Must be a permanent or temporary (fixed-term) full-time or part-time
employee. Casual employees that have worked at least 520 hours between 1
January and 30 June 2006 will also be eligible.
Must be employed on the date of payment.

Employees that participate in local incentive performance plans or the
Executive Performance Plan are ineligible.

Payment details
The payment will be paid to the majority of employees on Friday 25 August.
Employees who are on leave and have been paid in advance or are on an
overseas payroll will receive the payment in their next scheduled pay.


Qantas Group Broadcast Message
- Issued by Employee Communication -

[Machinegun Fellatio]

Now we are getting some where ...some passion.
The story so far....
Dixon has declared war on his employees ...fool
Dixon and his cronies may or may not be doing some clever accounting to shroud their incompetence.
The management is not as transparent in their cost apportioning amongst the Qantas Group as they should be.
PAF will no doubt take issue with most of this and can therefore produce documentation to refute what I have said and substantiate his own view.
I cant find any Qantas documentation that highlights Dixons blunders illustrated in this forum.
BUT...they have occurred.
Little by little they have been exposed in the Fin Review and other media.
Certainly they have been exposed on PPRuNE by those who know.
Yes Yes I know I am being obtuse.
This forum necessitates that because of its nature and administration.
Okay folks ..your turn..show some more passion :E
BTW what is a "nuff nuff"?
Jargon used by a 26yr old?

[chemical alli]

last year it was $1000 bonus guess times are tough.this comes two days after darth and co wrote an seemingly abusive email about changes needed and if we the employees didnt shape up,out you would go.
also what is $500 after tax to an over paid lame or pilot ? little more than a houso pack of vb twist tops and a cartoon of cigs,
no caviar here darth and co

[Pass-A-Frozo]

You didn't go read about Market Efficiency did you MGF?
All the financial information has been released.

[Point0Five]

Sssh. I think that MGF might be about to storm the Bastille :hmm:

[Machinegun Fellatio]

While the small dogs bark...the wagon rolls on

[Pinky the pilot]

While the small dogs bark...the wagon rolls on

MGF; The 'wagon'.....or Tumbrils?:(

[Pass-A-Frozo]

While the small dogs bark...the wagon rolls on

I couldn't agree more. The argument is over who the "small dogs" are, and who/what the wagon is.

[Machinegun Fellatio]

The Small barking dogs...=..PAF and your ilk

[Pass-A-Frozo]

So what's the wagon?

[Machinegun Fellatio]

A metaphor for the coccoon YOU inhabit
This nonsense will undoubtedly finish with this thread being closed.
If you want to continue....PM me

[Pass-A-Frozo]

My cocoon is rolling while I bark?
So why is my cocoon rolling?