A few Qantas questions

[vdd]

Hi

I've been going through various topics regaring Aussie airlines and have come up with a few questions regarding FAs at Qantas.

I'm a Wannabe, but also curious about how things are at the moment due to redundancies, de-crewing and LHs transfering over to SH.

If anyone has a minute... some thoughts would be great.

Cheers

1) With Long Haul FAs taking redundancy, or transfering over to Short Haul how will this affect the Seniority system?. .2) If Qantas continues with hiring Long Haul FAs as only Fixed Termers and Casuals then how will they be able to advance or be made First Class Cabin Crew?. .3) Will First Class Flight Attendant's become a thing of the past, as I heard Qantas was going to drop quite a few first class services as they were no longer profitable. Will this mean that all FAs will be able to service First Class rather than the 350 FAs chosen on merit.. .4) De-crewing - any thoughts on this? :)

[twiggs]

Hi E-Ticket,. .I'll try to answer from the perspective of a QF L/H F/A.. .1.From what I have heard, short haul f/a's are the ones whose seniority is most affected by the transfers and they are not too happy as there are a lot of long haulers coming in and jumping over them.. .In long haul the redundancies and transfers will not affect seniority greatly. If anything it will slightly improve things for those that remain.. .. .2.Qantas still need full timers and they are getting these by offering the fixed termers F/T positions at the end of their contract.. .. .3. The only reduction in First Class is the amount of F/A's working in the pointy end.. .There is still 3 First Class F/A's per 744, but now 1 of them really doesn't do any first class work except heat up the food. That F/A now does the main deck J/C galley.. .So the answer is no.. .. .4. Decrewing is what caused question 3.. .On the 744, there is 15 F/A's instead of 16 with the loss being in First Class, which basically doesn't affect the overall workload of anyone except first class, (who generally have a light workload anyway). This reduction does however mean that there is one less position in J/C for regular F/A's to work as it is now being done by the First Class F/A.. .On the 763 it is another story. 8 F/A's has now become 7 and the loss is in the Y/C cabin which effectively increases everyone's workload.

[vdd]

Hi Twiggs. .. .Thanks for your reply and answering my questions. I also heard that about 130 Fixed Termers in Short Haul will be finishing up this month and restarting as permanents sometime near August.. .. .Is the Long Haul division now short on staff due to redundancies and LH staff moving over to SH? The travel industry seems to be coming out of a slump, so Qantas might start increasing their flights in the near future.. .. .Cheers and thanks.

[twiggs]

In long haul, the transfers to short haul and the voluntary redundancies, were designed to get rid of an excess in crew caused by Sep 11 and also the crewing reductions.. .I will bet though that they will be short of crew and be recruiting again soon.

[vdd]

Hello Twiggs. .. .I think it may turn out that way as well in the not too distant future.. .. .Cheers and hope you're enjoying LH.. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />

[NigelOnDraft]

Twiggs.... .. .&lt;&lt;On the 763 it is another story. 8 F/A's has now become 7&gt;&gt;. .What Pax load do you carry on a 763? We have to have 8 cabin crew ex-base, and if downroute we go down to 7 (e.g. sickness) we have a maximum Pax load (which is less than capacity)... This is not for service reasons, but evacuation or similar.... .. .NoD

[twiggs]

Our capacity on the 763 is presently 229 pax and unfortunately the minimum operating crew is 6 to cover all emergency exits.. .Apparently they tried 6 crew on the 762 in short haul but the service didn't get done!. .. .I should clarify that this is the case for most of our 763s but not all.. .We do have some on loan from BA which have 8 doors and hence a minimum of 8 crew.. . . . <small>[ 18 March 2002, 01:26: Message edited by: twiggs ]</small>

[miss 22]

Hey there!!!. .Does anyone know how long you have to wait for a F/a position when you are on a short list???. .Ive been on the QF short list for about 9 months now and iam still waiting.

[leemo]

Hi Miss 22,. .. .Like Biscuit Chucker I have also heard June/July recruitment.. .. .First to get positions will be casual then fixed term people who have either had their contracts expire @ the end of Feb or due to expire @ the end of March. Full time permanent positions are being offered to them in short haul based on hire date.. .. .Once those positions are filled the next people to get roles are current Qantas ground staff who have also been waiting since last year. Qantas haven't been able to offer them f/a positions because they had no PERMANENT roles available to give them.. .. .Then QF will call the current short listed people like yourself. They are currently saying hundreds of vacancies will open up this year due to new aircraft coming into service.. .. .Not sure when long haul will be hiring again though.. .. .Fingers x'ed for you guys.

[vdd]

Hi Cart Queen and Biscuit Chucker. .. .Thanks for the QF info! I'm hanging out for long haul recruitment... might be a while though.. .. .Interestingly, I emailed Qantas asking about languages for F/A and their reply was "there are no language requirements for the crew". I'll keep up the German just in case they change their mind.. .. .Cheers <img border="0" title="" alt="[Razz]" src="tongue.gif" />

[miss 22]

Thanks cart queen for the info and hope things get better for long haul!!! <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> . .Last year I did QFs proficiency exam at NSW Uni and im hoping that helps a little with long haul positions.. .. .Cheers. <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" /> <img border="0" title="" alt="[Smile]" src="smile.gif" />. . . . <small>[ 21 March 2002, 12:02: Message edited by: miss 22 ]</small>

[bella75]

hi there all...its been a while since i've visited...reading up on whats been happening with Qf f/a positions....miss22 wanted to ask....i too have been waiting for approx 9months...how'd u know u were on a shortlist?....if possible can u email me....would like to ask you a few questions....thanx and goodluck to all still waiting that start date. .. .Ragards bella. .. .Miss22 my email is [email protected]. .. . <img border="0" title="" alt="[Cool]" src="cool.gif" />