Qantas Results

[Trafalgar]

Interesting: Qantas announces their second highest profit on record, and also a nice bonus to all staff. Amazingly (!), they managed this impressive turnaround without cutting pilot pay or benefits (and having to work within a compromised route network, high tax and high labour cost environment). Once again, a damning indictment of the incompetence and myopic mindset of the sad excuses for managers running CX (into the ground....). Interesting how nearly the entire world airline industry is growing and earning healthy profits. Oh, forgot.....so would we be if they hadn't squandered 20 years of profits on catastrophic fuel hedging, catastrophic currency hedging and paying out hundreds of millions on fines in numerous court cases (then there's the ever increasing cost of replacing crew who are resigning and taking jobs at carriers where they believe they will actually have a career worthy of the term). Well done Qantas.

[cxorcist]

Don't like or agree with all your posts Traf, but this one is spot on! Cheers.

[gtseraf]

I don't have the exact numbers but I believe the average package/conditions at QF HAVE been affected over the years. The turnaround follows years of stagnation, growth of the low cost subsidiary at the expense of the mainline company, resulting in serious career stagnation for many mainline pilots.

Things may look very rosy there now but I remember a time approx 6 years ago when many QF pilots took leave of absence when redundancies were threatened. Oh yes, also the infamous "grounding" of the operation.:ugh::ugh:

Personally, I don't think too many congratulations are due.

The positive aspect is that they are now making money and the career prospects there have improved, this is a massive positive for all, including non QF people. The more pilots QF takes, the less applicants other airlines have.

This does not excuse the pathetic performance at certain airlines, however company strategies are not always that clear and don't always make sense to their employees. Not defending anything here, it is such a shame to see a great career airline being reduced to the state it has.

[Trafalgar]

I think a point to emphasis is that they took redundancies, instead of 'sharing' the pain and implementing permanent cuts to pay and benefits. I think you will find that a senior Qantas pilot has effectively the same salary and pension they have always had (including proper inflationary raises). I don't pretend to have all the facts, but generally they have kept up with inflation and cost of living. Unlike here at CX, where a new pilot today is effectively on about 1/4 of what a new pilot earned (in real terms) 30 years ago. The average cost of a pilot to CX has dropped over 50% (yes, that much) since the mid 90's. And they have the audacity to suggest that we are still overpaid. There is NO point engaging this lot in negotiation. The only thing that will have any chance of stopping the rot is a full scale shut down. Otherwise, you will be a low-rent pilot on meager conditions for the rest of your career. Ultimately, most of you will conclude it isn't worth it and make a move to a more promising job (or at least living in a better part of the world). Just remember, the longer you leave it the further behind you'll be at the next company. CX used to be a career to aspire to. No longer. They are attempting to recruit inexperienced and gullible people with 'shiny jet syndrome', and hoping they can survive with an automated operation that covers up the inexperience behind the controls. Time will tell.... In the meantime, for each individual, you have only one career. Sad that many of you will squander it here.

[Freehills]

QANTAS 122 aircraft
Jetstar 72 aircraft
Pretty much all growth has been for Jetstar since it was started, with QF stagnating

Jetstar salaries c. 25% lower than QF, and worse T&C I believe.

Difference between CX & QF is that QF put their C scale into a different airline

[raven11]

After reading the latest "we must take steps to ensure future sustainability", was it just me, or did others recall, the exact same words were mouthed by management in 1993...?

Back then the slogan was "commitment days", today it's " time to win".

It has been a variation of the same theme for nearly 25 years.

[Captain Dart]

Ahh, the 'Commitment Days'. Everybody rotated off the roster, sent to the auditorium and harangued about how 'bad' things were for two days.