Ansett

[Tainlovestofly]

I am new to aviation and have been cabin crew for less than a year now. In my ground school was a former Ansett FA and then when I started IFT my trainer was also ex Ansett and because of these two I have not stopped hearing about how Ansett used to be. They keep telling me that they were the highest paid CC in the world (or maybe just Australia, I can't remember...please correct me) and this meant that all the staff were extremely loyal and well trained. I have come across a lot of ex Ansett people in my new job and must say I have been very impressed with them.

I guess I am just genuinely interested to know, since I never even flew Ansett as a passenger back in the day, and since this industry is now the absolute love of my life, what the deal was with this? Could anyone give me the run down? What kind of money were they making? Was it really something special pay wise (for that era)? Was this pay part of the reason Ansett collapsed? What kind of company was it like to work for? It sounds like a great big family from what they tell me, but I'd like to hear other people's opinions, even if you didn't work for them. I also hear Ansett employees (well, CC anyways) got 12 free flights domestically a year at one stage.

I'd just love to get some insiders POVs cos I'm just curious and would like to learn what it used to be like there before it all collapsed.

[ditzyboy]

I also hear Ansett employees (well, CC anyways) got 12 free flights domestically a year at one stage.

It was Ansett Domestic cabin crew. Qantas Short Haul cabin crew get the same thing. It's 12 free trips, by the way. Not 12 free flights. The onload category is very low so you have go to be careful when using them. It is a great perk, which is surprisingly underused.

As far as I am aware Ansett and Australian Airlines, later Qantas SH, cabin crew were on similar money and conditions. For many years Qantas SH cabin crew had Band payments and Ansett cabin crew did not. Bands are payments for working unsociable hours. Juniors at Ansett got stuck working weekends and early duties for year and years. At Qantas it is less likely to happen as Bands meant people chased the extra money. (There is the term 'Band Mole', LOL. I am not one of them - give me weekends off, thanks!)

[domaus]

Virginblue have a similar arrangement - $1,000 each year worth of staff travel credits given to each employee for them and any one on their group one staff travel. If you travel between SYD-MEL a lot, let's say at $30 a flight, its around 33 free flights before you start paying the $30 yourself for example. These yearly credits can be used internatioinally or domestically.

[redcliffe62]

I worked for Ansett in the 90's.
I won awards for my service level, (this point is relevant, bear with me)and had no intention of leaving what was a cross between an airline and the civil service, as people felt they were owed a job for life. Customer service levels in general were quite poor, people were agitated if they could not leave at 5 on the dot.
If a customer rang in at 4.57pm the phone was not answered as it might mean they were delayed leaving on time.
Staff travel was ridiculous, I was on AD90 at the end but some people were on AD97.5.
I tried to get staff to park their cars on the street instea dof in the freight terminal itself, where freight was stored for custom spurposes, but the quirk continued. People did not care, it was a GUARANTEED job. And it had kudos, if yous aid you worked for Ansett people knew you were OK.
Money was increasingly tight at Level 23 swanston street melbourne, and the reputation dropped off compared to the established QF and the new upstart cheaper carriers. Nothing changed in attitude, as Ansett was secure, surely.
There were 2 reasons it fell over,
1/ safety concerns over 767's which meant its market share dropped and future ticket sales fell off, hitting cash flow.
2/ Terms and conditions demanded were agreed and sent the airline over the edge. I was given a 9day fortnight, instead of my usual 10 days, backdated for YEARS.

I refused to accept it as I would have had 6 months leave. When I resigned soon after seeing thew writing on the wall I got a huge payout, which the airline could not afford.
I left my supoerannuatioj in stupidly and it was all lost. Every penny, down the administartors black hole.
So with fewer customers, less forward bookings and a reputation for increasingly having industrial trouble Ansett fell over as the public stopped purchasing tickets.

I see similarities in England, and having lived in England most of my life I can assure you that the same pigheadedness seems prevalent there as there was in my office.

There was no warning Ansett just did the sums and it was shut on the spot. never to fly again. I think BA may have to close the same way, although unlike Ansett I think it may rise again in another guise with Iberia, but what do I know.:confused:

Lots of Ansett staff tried to join Virgin and other carriers, but these carriers found that debugging them after so many years of lousy service levels meant getting new staff without fixed prejudices was in general preferred.

[somewhereat1l]

I've worked with heaps of ex Ansett staff (crew) and they are fantastic. Way better customer service than some of the 20 something upstarts we have online.

And as for Ansett going under doing a bit of investigation and you will find Air NZ stripped the assetts and charged their fuel costs back to Ansett.

Not surprised they went under.

Shame they were a brilliant airline (I never worked for them though)

[redcliffe62]

Do not get me wrong, I loved working for Ansett, but when I saw the get up and go of the young whippersnappers on other carriers and the excesses and demands within Ansett I questioned how they could afford it.
The leverage was dependent on a market share of from memory around 41%, and for every percentage point lost without commensurate cuts then a downhill spiral ensued. When it got to mid 30's and companies gave their whole travel biz to another carriier then things went downhll fast.

I was VERY close to those that were in charge financially, and made sure that a friend did not buy a ticket to Hong Kong on AN887 the day before the carrier fell over. I have since had good discussions with many involved, including the key safety inspector who stopped Ansett flying and two of the key accountants.
Could it have been done differently, without grounding a fleet and suggesting to the media that flying Ansett was a RISK? I think so, and always will. :ugh:
The Air NZ issue was a factor, but it was the lack of money from forward bookings that was a concern. Overly leveraged to such an extent after the purchase of equipment that a drop off in sales and consumer confidence was crucial.

The civil service mentality; that people were somehow guaranteed a job, was the main issue. They did not think of Ansett as a private company, it was a bottomless pit to go on forever, as part of the fabric of society. That fabric can however be torn.

Future bookings for BA will have dropped off dramatically, funds that are needed for cashflow, and Ansett showed that despite being loved, people are practical and if flying EK et al guarantees a safe journey and flying BA may have issues they will simply swap allegiance in droves, as service overrides loyalty.

[Metro man]

BA is another dinosaur struggling with evolution and some of it's cabin crew share one of the dinosaurs characteristics, brains the size of a pea.

When you employer has just announced record losses of over GBP 500 000 000 and is struggling from the last strike and the volcanic ash, the last thing it needs is another series of strikes.

Look at the competition,

Low cost airlines started with a clean sheet of paper employing best practice in all areas and operating on razor thin margins.

Asian/Middle Eastern airlines with a hub system. Most relatively new in the market and employing best practice work procedures, some backed by government oil money, lower cost base and little chance of unions disrupting things.

Who is supposed to pay for all the largess BA cabin crew expect in their terms and conditions ? As a privatised company it won't be the government and it looks increasingly less likely to be the passengers.

When the competition offer lower fares, better service and greater reliability they are the ones whose business is going to grow at BAs expense.

[demomonkey]

Low cost airlines started with a clean sheet of paper employing best practice in all areas and operating on razor thin margins.


BA might have 'issues' but how you can ever call Lo-Co operators 'best practise' is absolutely laudable. Any Airline CEO/CFO who is prepared to use their staff as 'profit centres' has no soul! And razor thin margins often means 'razor thin safety margins' in some areas......