Evil Little Irish man given an award??

[blueloo]

Did anyone hear that the devil of the one star airline was given a Kingsford smith memorial, I mean medal or somesuch thing?

Anyone know how a man who has done so little for aviation could be given any recognition of this sort? (If true)

[kookabat]

That would be the Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Memorial Medal, and it would be because he was the Speaker at the prestigious Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Lecture, held by the Sydney Branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society, last night (27th).

A most interesting talk it was, too.

[Redstone]

He doesn't hold the infantry combat badge, so I for one am not interested.

[Taildragger67]

He doesn't hold the infantry combat badge, so I for one am not interested.

Then again, neither did Kingsford-Smith.

[Pete Conrad]

What was he given the award for? Threatening the JPC with base closures and loss of command prospects if they didn't sign the EBA over? Or for being the Southern Hemispheres International Transport airlines most believable spin doctor?

[kookabat]

he was the Speaker at the prestigious Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Lecture

That's all.

[ccy sam]

What did he say?

[kookabat]

In short, this (http://www.jetstar.com/pdf/news/20060927.pdf).

[Lucius Vorenus]

Taildragger67
Quote:
Originally Posted by Redstone http://www.pprune.org/forums/images/buttons/viewpost.gif (http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2877774#post2877774)
He doesn't hold the infantry combat badge, so I for one am not interested.

Then again, neither did Kingsford-Smith.Not issued to Gallipoli veterans like Smithy. Never a rich man either... he was just a great Australian pilot.

[DutchRoll]

It's a pity that a medal named after such a famous Australian pioneer should be made available in cornflakes packets. I would've thought they'd put more value on it than that.

[Wingspar]

Spot on Dutchy!

My sentiments exactly.

[megle2]

I took the time to read his address, I thought it was simply sickening.

To be fair I'd like to hear the corresponding Qantas staff version.

It's no achievement to claim glory when winding the upstart up as you wind the achievements of the parent down!

[QFinsider]

Don't worry too much fellas, there are chips on plenty of non flying shoulders in the Q too...

He is an irritant, a passing fad..Ask him how well Ryan Air is doing, you know the no frills Irish carrier...Paying their pilots well but with problems in maintenance, training and record keeping, it is lucky he left...Mind you whilst J* has new aircraft paid for by someone else, he can say what he likes. Give it 5 years :E

The sad thing about him is that the booster seat in his car isn't for a kid:E

[Gordstar]

I read the address text to the end:

"Our organisation is nimble and will adapt with the consumer as much as we
continue to innovate and explore new markets and flying opportunities."

Somewhat prior to the above quotation, he spoke on the responsibility to shareholders, it took until the last sentence to mention the passengers, and the crew did not get a mention!

It amazes me how AAS (formerly QANTAS) and J* management have convinced themselves that all pax in Australia now want to fly to the back packer standard.

Further, the treatment of aircrew suggests that the top floor sees them as so expendable and as little more than an unfortunate inconvenience which has to be tolerated as part of their operation.

Southern Hemisphere Internation Transportation is indeed alive and well, for those of you who say give it five years, I certainly hope that if it takes that long, there will be something to resurect by then.

In the meantime, I hope the true believers, (aircrew) can keep their sense of humour.

How long will it take for the Great God Shareholder to work out what is going on?

:hmm:

[Wingspar]

It is not so surprising when you read his background is in mathematics!
I remember reading a quote from where he stated that the success of the company is based on it's costbase.
I think more than a science degree is needed to understand what consumer needs are and how to satisfy them.:confused:
For example see;
http://www.choice.com.au/viewArticle.aspx?id=104763&catId=100281&tid=100008&p=2&title=Domestic+airline+survey

[Meeb]

Well if the Royal Aeronautical Society awarded the Sir Charles Kingsford Smith Memorial Medal for that speech I am afraid it leaves the RAeS in a very poor light..... What a pathetic excuse for a 'lecture'.... :rolleyes:

[kookabat]

I'm not sure I see what the Royal Agricultural Society has to do with this?

[Meeb]

Thanks for that, I have edited my post.

[neville_nobody]

Well it's going to be interesting if it works anyway, as Simon Calder points out in his book on Low Cost Carriers, when you start flying long haul all the efficiency gains made by a LCC setup are lost. That's why noone has ever done it before. There are some quotes from all the European LCC CEO's saying that they will not be even entertaining the idea of long haul travel. So Joyce here is trully a pioneer. Well with Qantas's money anyway, I might be patting him on the back if he was bankrolling it himelf.

It will be interesting to see how long the whole " long haul no frills" thing last before it starts morphing into Qantas...........or maybe that's the idea :suspect:

[radiation junkie]

Yes, that is exactly the idea ! Within 5 years or sooner when the smoke and mirrors accounting has cleared to reveal that the only way J* Dom and Int can sustain low costs is by QANTAS mainline paying the bills. But, when our fearless, medal winning management has rung it's last bonus out of us, they will come up with the idea of putting J* staff into Q Mainline "monkey suits " & force every one in Qantas on to J* style AWA's. Problem solved.
"Hey Dude, were's my bonus " ?!
I could be wrong , so please enlighten me ?!

[International Trader]

Say what you like about what the rise of Jetstar has done to the industry,it really is the only event of any consequence since the fall of Ansett and market entry of Virgin ,before that!

Surely , a recount of this is a valid subject and who would one expect to give such a speech but the head of the operation.Therefore , the medal. And, what's in a medal anyway in a world where you can just about award yourself with a degree and print up a qualification?

Far better than hearing Dixon go on about all and sundry regarding QF . All except the juicy stuff , protectionism political clout , plots against staff,:cool: etc.

Besides, never learned much without listening.
So, listen .You may get some information that may be of assistance.

[MIss Behaviour]

Megle2

It's no achievement to claim glory when winding the upstart up as you wind the achievements of the parent down!

Reminds me of a documentary I saw recently on wolves whereby the offspring will kill the parents when vying for food if they pose a threat.

It will be interesting to see how things transpire up north when Jetstar take over the CNS/DRW/SIN route an the end of the month. Passengers will continue to be upset because as long as Qantas persist with QF codeshare flight numbers operated by Jetstar. Pax assume that a QF flight number means QF aircraft, service, f/flyer points etc & are extremely disappointed when they find out it's not.

Many disgruntled (former QF) pax now use Tiger Airways DRW/SIN as a shuttle service and use a Singapore travel agent sourced from Saturday's New Straits Times for package deals ex SIN to their preferred destination. Works out a heck of a lot cheaper than paying for an airfare ex Oz to somewhere. Just ask the Greeks.

After all they're not deserting an Australian product when the (JQ) aircraft they board has a prefix of 9V.

[bushy]

The big organisations hire "high powered" expensive executives, to get maximum value for the shareholders. But most of them are gone, and have taken huge bonuses with them in a few years, leaving a very sick company that only services the "high revenue" areas, and has some expensive catching up to do.
I remember a Senior flying instructor telling me how he could set up a country flying school, and get lot's of activity going in a short time, and then sell it, knowing he had almost exhausted all the business in the area.

Seems like this sort of thing is happening in big business (ie telecom services, airlines etc) CEO's get wealthy, but they have to be nomads.
And our govts think it's good, and give them subsidies and protection.

JUST LIKE GA

[pullock]

Radiation Junkie,
You are SPOT ON.
Jetstar reports low operating costs largely because it's a parasite on Qantas' equipment and infrastructure.
The smoke and mirrors can't be maintained indefinitely, however it will have been more than enough time for the latest recipient of the Charles Kingsford Smith award to have moved on leaving a whirlwind mess behind.
Giving awards away frivolously like this only cheapens it's value, but then that is what the new airline management ethos is all about - cheapening and value-subtracting.
Can anybody please tell me how making low cost carriers the flavour of the month makes sense when the Australian economy is the best it has ever been, with more people living in expensive houses, driving expensive cars, and spending more money on pet food now than they used to do on them selves?
Surely this cycle in the economy would be better used providing increased standards of product that attract higher yield. I would give an award to the manager who recognises that one :ok

[Wingspar]

Or when the economy eventually goes pear shape, what will happen to the price sensitive market which JQ relies on? :confused:

[Pete Conrad]

Ah well, 6 A330 guys destined to kick off the long haul flying didn't bother showing up for ground school recently, coupled with that, the A320 training mgr and an offsider quit from mngmt roles lately...correct, the smoke and mirrors can only last a certain time....sounds like the JPC aint that popular now either..the Jetstar empire, like every other empire will crumble at some stage....or until 2008 comes around and they all sign AWA's.

Lets fly Jetstar...........

[GUARD]

Jetstar is continually spruking about what leadership they can show and how adept they are at turning a profit and how they are the future of aviation.

They remind me of the guy who shows up at a business dinner with the most beautiful girl in the room ( who happens to be a high class hooker ), brandishing her about as his new girlfriend.

Everyone knows it must be bullsh#t but only time will prove that. Same with Jetstar.

Tick tick tick

GUARD:)

[Selac66]

'The larger B787- 9 from 2010 onwards will have the capability for us to fly direct from Australia to west coast North America – which like in Europe, or India and China will be very much complementary to further growth in Qantas international operations.'
My bold.

Yep you've got it.

[The_Cutest_of_Borg]

This has been hinted by others, but the queston is starting to loom large.

With an apparently less than enthusiastic response from expat pilots to crew J* International (and these guys were on AWA's and not the crap deal the JPC "brokered"), where exactly are J* going to get experienced captains to expand their operation from?

Fly the 787 for 160K and T&C's from a Dickensian workhouse? Sorry, don't think so.

The tactic emerging from AIPA to hold on to their current EBA for as long as possible is looking smarter. If Dixon and Joyce were looking to get pilots made redundant from QF to do it, then the current EBA redundancy provisions will make that unviable.

Of course they could use the pilots they have already trained to fly those A330's to do that job, but it seems that no cost linked to the holy grail of muscling unions out of QF is too great to bear. Ideology rules the QF boardroom.