Merged: QANTASLINK Crewing Crisis!
Join Date: Oct 2003
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Grrowler,
Props are for boats mate
At least the equipment might actually show up to do the flying. One of the high school kids in August told me they went through three broken down aircraft getting to Melbourne and back and lost a whole day. It's amazing that people actually think that this not only acceptable, but a "great" airline.
Props are for boats mate
At least the equipment might actually show up to do the flying. One of the high school kids in August told me they went through three broken down aircraft getting to Melbourne and back and lost a whole day. It's amazing that people actually think that this not only acceptable, but a "great" airline.
Chris,
I agree 100% that QL have problems with maintaining a schedule. F**k, we are/ were the ones that finished late every second day. However, this is due their greed making the schedule so tight that it only works with CAVOK, no ATC delays, no breakdowns, no crewing problems, and might I add no passenger delays. It has nothing to do with the quality of the pilots.
It sounds like you may have had a couple of bad experiences in the 404 days, and I can't comment on that, however I can say that while I was there I thought the standard of training was extremely good, and as has been mentioned, most airlines around the world agree.
HJ, going well, 1st sim check on Sunday night, then finally home. If you're moving up north drop in and say gday.
I agree 100% that QL have problems with maintaining a schedule. F**k, we are/ were the ones that finished late every second day. However, this is due their greed making the schedule so tight that it only works with CAVOK, no ATC delays, no breakdowns, no crewing problems, and might I add no passenger delays. It has nothing to do with the quality of the pilots.
It sounds like you may have had a couple of bad experiences in the 404 days, and I can't comment on that, however I can say that while I was there I thought the standard of training was extremely good, and as has been mentioned, most airlines around the world agree.
HJ, going well, 1st sim check on Sunday night, then finally home. If you're moving up north drop in and say gday.
Are, Mr Higgins!!
I remember the first post of his I read here. It was a there-I-was-back-to-the-wall-nothing-on-the-clock-but-the-makers-name-and-that-was-in-polish account of an Av-Med flight, the intent of which was to let us all know what a hero he was, and therefore why he was qualified to referee the intermidable D Smith V The World show.
Chris, you may have been born in Aus, but you have forgotten so much of the Australian value system and ethos, whilst obviously being completely immersed in the US pschycology, that your contributions are less than useless here.
I remember the first post of his I read here. It was a there-I-was-back-to-the-wall-nothing-on-the-clock-but-the-makers-name-and-that-was-in-polish account of an Av-Med flight, the intent of which was to let us all know what a hero he was, and therefore why he was qualified to referee the intermidable D Smith V The World show.
Chris, you may have been born in Aus, but you have forgotten so much of the Australian value system and ethos, whilst obviously being completely immersed in the US pschycology, that your contributions are less than useless here.
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"However with oil prices at $90 a barrel and fear of recession in the UK and many other European economies, the current outlook for the coming fiscal year is poor." Ryan Air 3 Qtr results 07/08
All booms bust (or at least take a breather). I am sure that there are plenty of pprune readers who recall the lean times of the late '70s early '80s when aviation last took a breather.
An operator in HK is retrenching B738 pilots because of a slow down, and I don't think that this will be the last.
Management need a strategy to maintain sound fundamentals through the good times, as the bad (read "when is airline X recruiting?") is never far away.
Time for clever thinking by Pilots and Board of Directors alike.
Not trying to be a doomsayer, just trying to keep some balance. Now lets get back to some good debate...
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Wizofoz(?)
Well..Mr Wizard; nothing self deprecating or presumptuous in such a pseudonym.
And with 1,500 posts of nothing but spectacular contributions yourself, you are obviously in a position to make such statements? Wow man, that's a lot of hyphens! Where did you get your high school diploma? Enjoy Europe, oh that's right, Europe is part of Australia now, isn't it? No? Well if it's not in dastardly America, it must be alright then! Have you got any more pathetic left wing commie crap you want to spout off with?
Without sounding too much like some critic off a reality tv show, I'm bored.
Grrowler
America, has come full circle to requiring bachelor's degrees, criminal background checks, random drug and alcohol testing, linking the national driving records to the FAA offices and requiring independent accounting and safety audits to be compliant with new laws that are all aimed at improving safety and accountability.
This all came after two tragic decades of almost non-stop monthly crashes of both scheduled and unscheduled service. USAir, the Pittsburgh airline had five fatal hull losses in five years alone. The litigation is ongoing from 1994. This is a painful past that must be learned from, if it is not to be repeated in other places.
At our beloved Qantas we now have aircraft being maintained abroad with arguably some of the poorest oversight of any industrialized nation's authority, people paying for employment or signing contracts of indentured servitude with no scope protection and a regional affiliate that can't even provide scheduled service to a seaside resort that enjoys more sunshine than anywhere except Townsville.
I don't know how you feel about, it but whether it's Dick Smith, your Prime Minister, your shareholders or the public marching with their feet to the competition, something has to change because it is not nearly good enough.
Yeah, I had some bad experiences on that carrier. My wife can be pretty demanding and it took half way to International before I could calm her down from what we had seen. You guys have to understand that your actions are constantly on display and your display is being viewed by a public that is not nearly as dumb as you all think they are.
Your management must realize that with a well developed highway system on the East Coast, an array of other travel options from Sydney or Brisbane, it wouldn't take much to kill the golden goose altogether. The last thing you need is for a new-hire or cadet with historically low experience being involved anywhere near bent metal. You certainly don't need them tooling around at 300' and below protected circling minima staring at the panel either!
If you want to PM me with a telephone number, or have me give me yours, we can talk about it, but I don't think she'll ever fly on them again.
Well..Mr Wizard; nothing self deprecating or presumptuous in such a pseudonym.
And with 1,500 posts of nothing but spectacular contributions yourself, you are obviously in a position to make such statements? Wow man, that's a lot of hyphens! Where did you get your high school diploma? Enjoy Europe, oh that's right, Europe is part of Australia now, isn't it? No? Well if it's not in dastardly America, it must be alright then! Have you got any more pathetic left wing commie crap you want to spout off with?
Without sounding too much like some critic off a reality tv show, I'm bored.
Grrowler
America, has come full circle to requiring bachelor's degrees, criminal background checks, random drug and alcohol testing, linking the national driving records to the FAA offices and requiring independent accounting and safety audits to be compliant with new laws that are all aimed at improving safety and accountability.
This all came after two tragic decades of almost non-stop monthly crashes of both scheduled and unscheduled service. USAir, the Pittsburgh airline had five fatal hull losses in five years alone. The litigation is ongoing from 1994. This is a painful past that must be learned from, if it is not to be repeated in other places.
At our beloved Qantas we now have aircraft being maintained abroad with arguably some of the poorest oversight of any industrialized nation's authority, people paying for employment or signing contracts of indentured servitude with no scope protection and a regional affiliate that can't even provide scheduled service to a seaside resort that enjoys more sunshine than anywhere except Townsville.
I don't know how you feel about, it but whether it's Dick Smith, your Prime Minister, your shareholders or the public marching with their feet to the competition, something has to change because it is not nearly good enough.
Yeah, I had some bad experiences on that carrier. My wife can be pretty demanding and it took half way to International before I could calm her down from what we had seen. You guys have to understand that your actions are constantly on display and your display is being viewed by a public that is not nearly as dumb as you all think they are.
Your management must realize that with a well developed highway system on the East Coast, an array of other travel options from Sydney or Brisbane, it wouldn't take much to kill the golden goose altogether. The last thing you need is for a new-hire or cadet with historically low experience being involved anywhere near bent metal. You certainly don't need them tooling around at 300' and below protected circling minima staring at the panel either!
If you want to PM me with a telephone number, or have me give me yours, we can talk about it, but I don't think she'll ever fly on them again.
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Chris Higgins,
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier but I, unlike you(obviously by the number of posts you have responded to here) have been doing my bit for my employer and the share holder. And BTW all 10 sectors chocka. So we betta not tell all the travelling public out there how dangerous QL is
I am not trying to tell you how good I am, (just an average bloke who has to try a little harder than the rest), nor how good my outfit is either. But I WILL NOT JUST SIT AND LISTEN TO THE LIKES OF YOU GROSSLY SLURR THE REPUTATION AND STANDARDS OF A COMPANY FOR WHICH YOU ARE IGNORANT OF. How dare you.
I am happy that your a/c goes to FL510 and M0.92. You must have balls big enough to come in a dump truck to be that good. To even state this on a public forum shows just how insecure you are. You want to try and impress me with your astronaut wings mate, it aint working.
I have better things to do than respond further to your self opinionated propaganda.
I said it before so kindly do as requested previously.
Sorry for not getting back to you earlier but I, unlike you(obviously by the number of posts you have responded to here) have been doing my bit for my employer and the share holder. And BTW all 10 sectors chocka. So we betta not tell all the travelling public out there how dangerous QL is
I am not trying to tell you how good I am, (just an average bloke who has to try a little harder than the rest), nor how good my outfit is either. But I WILL NOT JUST SIT AND LISTEN TO THE LIKES OF YOU GROSSLY SLURR THE REPUTATION AND STANDARDS OF A COMPANY FOR WHICH YOU ARE IGNORANT OF. How dare you.
I am happy that your a/c goes to FL510 and M0.92. You must have balls big enough to come in a dump truck to be that good. To even state this on a public forum shows just how insecure you are. You want to try and impress me with your astronaut wings mate, it aint working.
I have better things to do than respond further to your self opinionated propaganda.
I said it before so kindly do as requested previously.
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Somehow I very much doubt that someone who has no idea about the concept of a circling approach (but thinks he does), will ever be silenced about all the other topics he thinks he knows something about.
Sorry Mr CH, but from where I stand your arguements lack substance. In fact you remind me of a fellow who used to frequent this forum - "Aircraft".
Sorry Mr CH, but from where I stand your arguements lack substance. In fact you remind me of a fellow who used to frequent this forum - "Aircraft".
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Opinions of Chris Higgins the "Qualified Check Pilot"
Ok - sorry but I will buy into this one.
Chris Higgins has his opinions, allbeit outdated, uninformed and biased for what ever reason, they are exactly that - opinions. I do not see any CASA Check Pilot approval with Chris Higgins name detailed on it, nor do I see any fact or evidence based information. Largely all I see is a person who appears insecure with an opinion or axe to grind venting in a public forum.
I am probably in a better position that most to comment on the standards at QFL and I can assure you the crews can stand proud in their demonstration and application of professionalism. Sure there may be errors made because we are all human, but that is one of the fundamental targets of training and checking (error management)
Jarse and Norm, stand proud in the dedication and professionalism you and the rest of your colleagues have displayed over a long period of time.
Feeding the troll that is Chris Higgins only goes to serve his purpose (whatever it is). But there will come a day where some one on this site is going to step over the line with a personal attack resulting in that infamous D word (defamation) with its obvious results.
Happy Days
Chris Higgins has his opinions, allbeit outdated, uninformed and biased for what ever reason, they are exactly that - opinions. I do not see any CASA Check Pilot approval with Chris Higgins name detailed on it, nor do I see any fact or evidence based information. Largely all I see is a person who appears insecure with an opinion or axe to grind venting in a public forum.
I am probably in a better position that most to comment on the standards at QFL and I can assure you the crews can stand proud in their demonstration and application of professionalism. Sure there may be errors made because we are all human, but that is one of the fundamental targets of training and checking (error management)
Jarse and Norm, stand proud in the dedication and professionalism you and the rest of your colleagues have displayed over a long period of time.
Feeding the troll that is Chris Higgins only goes to serve his purpose (whatever it is). But there will come a day where some one on this site is going to step over the line with a personal attack resulting in that infamous D word (defamation) with its obvious results.
Happy Days
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I am glad to see you are all very happy with your opinions and quality of your training and employ. The reference to my "dump truck" was made with the statement that it was really not at all a challenge to fly in the kind of conditions we encounter here-quite safely without going below the prescribed circling minima, staring at instruments, and outside of both the visibility and obstacle clearance requirements for the approach. Yes, I did correct somebody that it didn't have auto-throttles.
There was a saying in the State Emergency Services in Australia, "Nobody will ever remember us for anything we do right; only for what we do wrong."
Normasars
I have been an observer, but more importantly a consumer of your product. Others have also been both consumers and observers and have shared with me that they weren't happy with the product. Fans have a right to boo at a game when they have paid for a ticket and they aren't enjoying the game. No different here. We have paid a lot of money to fly on you guys in the past and the "game" was off.
You have reason to both be proud and angry when anybody criticizes you and the professionalism of your company. I'm sure it exists, I just haven't seen it!
The three basic rules for the airline industry are;
1. Run on time, and don't cancel. This means standby crews and aircraft.
2. Don't lose bags.
3. Be clean. The aircraft must be clean so that the perception of other extraneous issues such as maintenance appear to have been taken care of from the view of the public.
I would also ask that one other be added; watch your conduct in public as you represent your employer in the way you dress, the language you use and whether or not you do things like sneak somebody on the jumpseat that shouldn't really be there.
All the best guys! Stay safe; and don't make me answer a call to public service by coming back and working for CASA, because then you'll really have something to write about.
There was a saying in the State Emergency Services in Australia, "Nobody will ever remember us for anything we do right; only for what we do wrong."
Normasars
I have been an observer, but more importantly a consumer of your product. Others have also been both consumers and observers and have shared with me that they weren't happy with the product. Fans have a right to boo at a game when they have paid for a ticket and they aren't enjoying the game. No different here. We have paid a lot of money to fly on you guys in the past and the "game" was off.
You have reason to both be proud and angry when anybody criticizes you and the professionalism of your company. I'm sure it exists, I just haven't seen it!
The three basic rules for the airline industry are;
1. Run on time, and don't cancel. This means standby crews and aircraft.
2. Don't lose bags.
3. Be clean. The aircraft must be clean so that the perception of other extraneous issues such as maintenance appear to have been taken care of from the view of the public.
I would also ask that one other be added; watch your conduct in public as you represent your employer in the way you dress, the language you use and whether or not you do things like sneak somebody on the jumpseat that shouldn't really be there.
All the best guys! Stay safe; and don't make me answer a call to public service by coming back and working for CASA, because then you'll really have something to write about.
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CASA positions are not elected, they are appointed. I can tell you quite assuredly that the many contacts I have had regarding this forum would indicate more support than you can even imagine.
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In my opinion, CH is correct with his/her example
These 3 problems are evident at QFlink are they not?
And another note, Mr Higg is the only person who seems to be able to spell the difference between lose, loose, loser. All those loosers (sic) please take note.
1. Run on time, and don't cancel. This means standby crews and aircraft.
2. Don't lose bags.
3. Be clean. The aircraft must be clean so that the perception of other extraneous issues such as maintenance appear to have been taken care of from the view of the public.
2. Don't lose bags.
3. Be clean. The aircraft must be clean so that the perception of other extraneous issues such as maintenance appear to have been taken care of from the view of the public.
- The constant downward pressure on costs (wages) has been biting for some time - but now, as we discuss on this forum, we are in crisis. Reserve crews are almost non-existent. Thanks to QF regional management for that!
- We don't necessarily lose bags, bags get delayed. You get that with 100% pax loads in a dash8.
- The cleaning is done by either tired demoralised cabin crew on the short turnarounds, or tired demoralised contract staff, paid crap wages by their management who bid the lowest price to get the contact. The exterior of the aircraft (paint/soot/oil/grease) is becoming an embarrassment in some cases.
And another note, Mr Higg is the only person who seems to be able to spell the difference between lose, loose, loser. All those loosers (sic) please take note.
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#60 32megapixels & #65 grrowler
Thanks for the info chaps, appreciated
32mega
Had a few chaps on my ATPL theory course that were converting to JAR, yes it did seem rather ridiculous what JAR get you Ozzie chaps to do to convert, glad to hear it's not as difficult the other way around, I did hear we only have to sit an air law exam, would that be correct? sorry for the 20 questions I guess it's better to contact CASA etc.
Also do you know of Europeans joining QL? would they actively recruit us with a Q400 rating in active employment? (an answer you may not know)
Thanks
CC
Thanks for the info chaps, appreciated
32mega
Had a few chaps on my ATPL theory course that were converting to JAR, yes it did seem rather ridiculous what JAR get you Ozzie chaps to do to convert, glad to hear it's not as difficult the other way around, I did hear we only have to sit an air law exam, would that be correct? sorry for the 20 questions I guess it's better to contact CASA etc.
Also do you know of Europeans joining QL? would they actively recruit us with a Q400 rating in active employment? (an answer you may not know)
Thanks
CC
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Coffin Corner,
http://www.casa.gov.au/fcl/download/atpl_guidelines.pdf
Looks like you will need to complete a CIR test also.
Icarus
http://www.casa.gov.au/fcl/download/atpl_guidelines.pdf
Looks like you will need to complete a CIR test also.
Icarus
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Chris Higgins
Chris, I have been meaning to P.M. you for a long time, after first seeing your name on one of the P.P. threads some time ago - never got around to it though as I always seemed to be either too busy flying or recovering from said activity. I wanted to touch base to find out if you are the same bloke I knew from one of my previous aviation lives. My recollection of the bloke I knew as Chris Higgins is of a tallented pilot, who was compassionate and with a great sense of humour. I always enjoyed his company and could rely upon getting well reasoned and balanced advice from him whenever I needed it. One of the sad things about this industry is when you move on from a job and lose contact with some of the great people who make working in aviation worth while. Chris was a great bloke and I would dearly like to make contact again - you are obviously not him!!!