How to Fix the Qantas International Business

[73to91]

I'll bite:

The problems with QF Internaional go back over twenty years , it had sruggled for years , always requiring the goverment of the today to inject cash to prevent it going under .

Not sure about 'going under' but in 1993 QF received a A$1.35 billion capital injection from the Government

It was propped up by legislation that guaranteed QF 50% of the market into and out of Australia .

No different to many other airlines in the world with 1 international airline per country, can think of only the USA, Japan, China and England that have more than 1 ‘true’ international flag carrier ! so what’s the point?

When the Gov't took that prop away, market share statred to fall . In addition there waqs the disasterous reign of the CEO in the mid 80's who spent like a drunken sailor,

Umm, who was that? John Menadue (86 to 89) and in that period (1986-87) there was record profits made of AUD 63.4 million must have been before Menadue?
Actually looking at the early 80’s, Qantas suffered from large operating losses. After the election of the new Labor (ALP) government in 1983, one of its first actions was to increase Qantas's capital base from AUD 89.4 million to AUD 149.4 million. The airline had been denied adequate capital by the previous government and had been obliged to borrow heavily to maintain its aircraft fleet in a modern, efficient, and competitive form. The government hoped that the injection of new capital would assure the future of Qantas as a wholly owned government enterprise.

ordering A/C like no tomorrow

continued from above The new government approved Qantas's largest-ever aircraft order, an AUD 860 million fleet modernization program involving the purchase of three stretched upper-deck Boeing 747s and six of the Extended Range Boeing 767 twin-engine jets

not to mention holiday Islands

, now I get it, you are talking about the ‘other’ airline called TAA - TAA holiday resorts were Dunk, Bedarra, Brampton and Great Keppel. Qantas had, umm?

cruise ships

Qantas Holidays did actually make an investment in Captain Cook Cruises though

and Hotels .

if it’s QANTAS you are talking about, are you talking about the Wentworth Hotel in Sydney? Gee, that has been around since the last 50’s

When the recession "we had to have "chimed in, along with the Piots dispute of 89

,
How is your history? QANTAS was not on strike in 1989

QF International was a basket case . Gov't had to put its hand deep in the taxpayers pocket to bail it out . A/C parked up against the fence , Coopers& Lybrand brought in to "assist " management , thousands of redundancies the outcome .

this is confusing, that was 1990/1991 wasn’t it? In 1990 Qantas reported a loss as a result of its fleet expansion program. These losses increased during 1990 as a result of the Persian Gulf crisis, and by early 1991 the airline was facing its worst financial situation since its foundation. It was decided to lay off 5,000 employees, sell nine Boeing 747s earlier than planned, and cut flying hours by 14 percent in the year to June 30, 1991, i.e. there were issues and QANTAS worked on addressing them.

So , the Gov't decided QF International could not survive as it was ,it merged the two publicliy owned airlines and got rid of the merged entity as a drain on the public purse .
The present state of affairs has been a long time coming ,

But let’s move forward a few years after the Australian Airlines merger, By fiscal 1997, Qantas was solidly in the black, achieving net profits of AUD 252.7 million. So QANTAS turned things around, didn't they?

it would be very sad to see Charlie Q go under , given the level of bitterness allround it does not look good.
Those who look to the past with rose tinted glasses are fools

,
those who distort history are also fools

Qantas International has always been a battleground for the Unions and management of the day . I could bore you with a litany of disputes right back to the last Pilots strike in 1966 , but whats the point! The die is being set , I only hope those who have good jobs with QF are not on here in the future wailing about the good job I HAD with QF

.

[ALAEA Fed Sec]

ALAEA notice just going out -

RE: PIA BALLOT AND QANTAS MANAGEMENT


Members are reminded that PIA ballot papers need to be sent back asap as the closing date with the Australian Electoral Commission is on the Wednesday the 22nd at 1000 AM.

As an update we can only share limited information about the ongoing discussions that are taking place in Fair Work Australia. In simple terms I can say that we were in there again at 1000 AM yesterday, we left at 1600 and we didn’t have a deal. In general terms we would like nothing more than to negotiate an outcome without the need to take action however a negotiated outcome would be near on impossible without a successful ballot result. I suspect that Qantas would also like a negotiated outcome that delivers us a small wage rise and absolutely no job security whatsoever. Information we are being told from other quarters indicates that they plan to decimate the Qantas LAME workforce post agreement regardless of the damage they will do to their own business in the process.

On that note a post was made on Pprune seeking input from readers on how things at Qantas could be done better. The response was overwhelming with dozens of ideas. Earlier on in negotiations Qantas advised us that the International business was struggling and as most of you would be aware, the CEO has been expressing those sentiments in a number of public forums. From our perspective we are of the view that each of our 1600 LAME members want Qantas to do well but are often witness to decisions that are flawed and lead to poor productivity that in turn adds unnecessary cost to the business. Members report that the business is clearly being mismanaged.

Some of the decisions that concern us relate to small matters such as parts not being available when tasks are ready to commence, there are the bigger ones such as the implementation of a new layer of unnecessary management (Ops managers) that costs the airline about $5million a year in wages and then hugely expensive decision errors that are made at board level. The most recent that comes to mind is the ordering of A380 aircraft that already require a massive reconfiguration programme.

Many members have expressed frustration that common sense ideas that have been suggested by Qantas staff have been dismissed. It appears that Qantas talk a lot about engagement with staff who also want that but all they receive in return is lip service, this is something that we as a union also often encounter. The ALAEA are at a loss to understand why Qantas often make these poor decisions. For them then to come to us seeking concessions related to our employment conditions due to underperforming parts of their business is then viewed as an insult.

We do not know what is around the corner when it comes to management of Qantas. There could be changes on the board or a complete 180 by those currently in senior positions. A day will come when Qantas is again controlled by people respected by the workforce for their knowledge and wise decision making. When that day comes we would like to be in a position where we can assist turning the business into what it should be by providing them with the necessary ideas to do it.

The third page of this notice is a form for you to fill out if you like. It can be returned anonymously or with your name affixed. We would like your input on what Qantas are doing wrong and how they can fix it. The ideas can be as minor or major as you like and should be specific so we know what needs to be done. This notice should also be given to your manager and his mates as we are also aware that many of them face similar frustrations. Managers are more than welcome to participate with this project and should be aware that their names, as is the case for all members will be kept strictly confidential if given to the ALAEA.

The data will be collected and made into a presentation that would be used when we suspect that someone, be they the owners or new managers, are prepared to listen. It also may be used during negotiations when the other side claim that they want flexibility or savings, I suspect we will be able to throw other ideas that can save them tenfold other than attacking our jobs and conditions.

It is unfortunate that as a professional Association we feel that our input is required to help run this business before it is destroyed by the people running the show today. A board that contains not one person with hands on airline operational experience cannot be good for our futures and the last thing we need to see is another Ansett. It’s about time this mob started to listen to their most valuable resource and if they don’t like that idea, we’ll find someone who will.

A copy of this notice has been sent to Alan Joyce.

ALAEA FEEDBACK ON HOW QANTAS COULD BE RUN BETTER

Briefly describe what is wrong –

How this problem could be fixed –

Name (optional) ___________________________________________________

Please fax back to ALAEA on [phone] or email ideas to

[email protected]

[Ngineer]

Would be a good idea if we had management that actually listened. They seem more secretive and sheepish than anything else.

[lamem]

Engagement, What Engagement

Steve

I have just read the latest notice. Just like the companies attempts at engagement it is a waste of time, money and resources. They have absolutely no interest is seeing any improvement. just hearing the talk from around the bases the local managers are just as bad as ever. They have no understanding of the concept of engagement. Just look at who they are replacing Big Dick with inb Per. The new bloke was the biggest bully known to man in BNE Heavy and regularly breached company policy. Now they keep him on and put him in WA. They are not interested in improving anything.

[ALAEA Fed Sec]

lamem - If you think what we have started is a waste of time, don't fill it out. We are looking for one chance, just one chance to find someone who has the powers to sack the bast**ds who are destroying this airline. If we find that person and have the right information at hand, the party will be over and so will the ongoing campaign of buggery.

[Jethro Gibbs]

Have to agree with LAMEM They are not interested .
If you think they will even read it your just fooling yourself and wasting your time they don,t give a rats arse what the workers or the ALAEA think just ask anyone who has suggested a process to make a job easier and quicker saving time and money they will tell you they would never bother again because of the negative response and being told how friggin hard it would be to change a couple of steps on a work order you just get to the point of thinking screw it I will do it the Qantas way even if takes 10 times and costs 10 times in $ as long they don,t care why should I.

[ALAEA Fed Sec]

To be so negative about an idea will not help. I can only say it so many times and in so many ways. I know the current managers aren't listening. The information is not for them. In case that was not understood - THIS IS NOT INFORMATION FOR THE CURRENT MANAGERS. We know they are ignorant.

The information is being gathered for other purposes like giving it to the institutional shareholders who decide who will run the company. They can sack the entire board if they like. If you would like the board replaced as I sure as hell do, fill one out if you think anything can be done better.

Before you consider further negative thoughts such as "they will only be replaced with another group of Wallies", if we can provide enough positive feedback, the shareholders may seek our endorsement of a new management team. I know it may seem pie in the sky but you never know what is around the corner. With the share price at $1.88 they must be on the nose.

[Jethro Gibbs]

Qantas jet refits secure 600 Avalon What a Load of crap this story is
Qantas jet refits secure 600 Avalon jobs | Geelong, VIC, Australia

[ALAEA Fed Sec]

Too right it is. The place had 900 employees when Syd Heavy was closed and the work transfered down there. They should have increased numbers.

[QFinsider]

Steve,

As a fellow custodian, i admire your integrity.
You are quite correct institutions are jittery. The share price less than when listed. the business in disarray, and the snouts buried in the trough to the detriment of institutional investors, customers and employees. indeed if such a thing exists these days, even to the detriment of national interest.
Engineers showed the pilots the way to go. Management have no stake in the company nor no knowledge of how it really works. that is our one shining light..

[Jethro Gibbs]

600 - 80 approx for reconfig what are the other 520 going to do

[Dockie]

Get rid of ops "managers" for a start. At a crew meeting our ops "manager" was asked what his job was and his answer was " I do not know."

[Ken Borough]

We know they are ignorant.

This is so typical of half-witted people who masquarade as leaders. What special qualifications does the ALAEA boss have to make such a claim? Most managers at Qantas will have already forgotten what little he may or will know.

[Budfox]

Word on the street from Broker friends is that Capital group are unloading.
Looks like they are fed up with the company once and for all
Not good at all, wakey wakey Mr Joyce

[DEFCON4]

Forgotten?

Qantas management know nothing,have never known anything and therefore have nothing to forget.
In corporate Australia Qantas managment are the least educated least capable and most incompetent

[craigieburn]

Go away Ken

Ken, is there not a Qantas managers forum that you can post your drivel on? FFS, your constant harping about the attributes of QF management is not only tiresome, the share price and market mood should tell you that your opinions are wrong!

['holic]

Ken Borough, 27th April

Since the float, the 'management' (a term I use loosely) had neither the courage nor foresight to reinvigorate Qantas. Instead, the easy path was taken and Jetstar created. The rest is history!

Sorry, Ken, gettin' mixed signals from ya. Are you agreeing or disagreeing with SP? And what was that bit about halfwits?

[Ken Borough]

'holic - ignorance does not equal a lack of foresight and lack of courage. A mixed message has not been sent, unless of course one is incapable of thinking things through!

[assasin8]

Ah Ken,"you're an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, surrounded by mystery."

[ejectx3]

"I object, your honor! This trial is a travesty. It's a travesty of a mockery of a sham of a mockery of a travesty of two mockeries of a sham."