Geoffery Thomas...again

[POT100]

Shame, Shame, Shame on you GT..
Get your facts right before you claim to be an "Aviation Expert".
I've never heard such drivel!!

And where is our Union to refute all this claims??..
I always wondered why the Australian people buy into this ****e.But with our union not refuting these claims in the media, I'm not surprised..

[sickofitall00]

DISGRACEFUL

To Geoffrey Thomas,

This time you have gone too far. My colleagues and I cringe every time you appear in print or on TV. You are propagating lies . Your lack of research and lack of integrity is now common knowledge amongst the aviation industry.
I'm not going to point out the obvious but you truly disgust me and many around me.
You actually were seated next to me at dinner a couple of weeks ago. My partner urged me to have a quiet chat with you but as it appeared you were with your wife I respected your privacy. It would be nice if you showed the many well trained professionals you slag off so regularly the same respect....
Next time I will have that chat with you. But it will not be so quiet.

[600ft-lb]

And where is our Union to refute all this claims??..
I always wondered why the Australian people buy into this ****e.But with our union not refuting these claims in the media, I'm not surprised..

Whilst I agree that claims need to be refuted and journalists need to be held to account when they hold as much power to influence public opinion as they do, BUT

Like Steve said in a radio interview, there is only so many resources available. Court cases, day to day operations, EBA negotiations as well as the fact he isn't just employed by Qantas LAME's, he is employed by industry LAME's.

Besides that, the ALAEA gets a 3 second sound bite at the most. They will never get the same air time as a corporate sponsor of the media. How many articles do you read that has the opposing view cast forth in the same light as the corporate view ?

When have you ever seen a journalist question the following;

• Alan Joyce gets paid less per hour then an A380 captain.
• Engineers get paid on average $170,000 a year.
• Qantas pilots work 500 hours a year
• Alan Joyce got paid less this year then last year.
• Qantas international lost $200million.
• Why was the Rolls Royce settlement not paid to the Qantas Airlines segment (The Australian Shareholders Association knows why, google it)?
• Why hasn't the effect of the QF32 incident, the volcanoes shutting down airspace, the radiation in Japan etc been cast as a one off event and used as justification why Qantas isn't deserving of new aircraft?
• Why did Qantas buy A380s instead of B777's ?
• How did the international segment go from being the most wildly successful segment in 2006/2007 to being the 'worst performing' ?

All worthy of some investigative journalism, all will be totally ignored by journalists.

[airdualbleedfault]

Sorry Tailwheel, you are wrong. Everybody is entitled to their opinion however nobody is entitled to get on national television or any media and lie about the terms and conditions of QF employees, in fact isn't it against the law? It's the same dirty underhanded tactics Bob and marijuana fats used in '89, I still remember dear old mum calling me a glorified bus driver. They are using lies and propaganda to turn the average idiot in the street ( that voted labour, but thats a whole other issue ) against the QF people, and I'll bet you it's working.

BTW FA18, turn your yank spell check off, it is " naive "

[gobbledock]

Ok, for all the high and righteous out there who feel poor GT has been grossly slandered and is being so poorly treated I will refrain from labeling him within the confines of what I really think of him, his ethic and his journalistic ability. But what I will gladly say, and it is my democratic right is this 'your story was utter ****'. Now go get your lawyer, see if I give a flying Fu#k.

[piston broke again]

Do as I did. Email sunrise on the form on the website and let them have it. A few thousand emails can't hurt.

[Checkboard]

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[apache]

yep... Just viewed it!

I cannot BELIEVE how much the QF PR machine can do!

not that he had much, but GT just lost ALL credibility in my eyes.

he is ALMOST as unbelievable as Dick Smith.... but they will continue to go to these two goons, because no-one else can/will/is allowed to talk to the press!!!!!

Farkme.... I will front the TV if need be and be your spokesman!!! I dont care about a career in Oz Aviation.

[Jack Ranga]

FA-18,

It's a pity you've gone, you might have learnt a thing or two.

My comments are SOLELY directed at the slanderous, personal attacks on individuals on this forum

Slanderous? Doubt it, most of Geoff Thomas's comments can be proven to be lies, easy peasy.

Personal attacks? So what, he's a big boy, if you are going to put yourself out there as an 'expert' and you are clearly not you've got to expect a bit of argy bargy?

[balance]

Good luck with your fight chaps.

Thanks.

I can see the angst GT has caused, but isn't it true, ie, don't QF pilots and engineers get paid considerably more than virgin et al in Aus, and more than competitors overseas. Im just saying. After all it is hard to rally public support against QF, GT and others, if in fact his claims in that interview are true.

No they do not get more than overseas competitors. Virgin dont compare, because they don't fly similar types... Inefficient managament of these guys is the problem. They are not flying to their full potential, yet getting paid for it. The reason is over establishment. This is not the fault of the pilots, but incompetant managers, who yet again, have stuffed it all up, but rather than accept blame, they put it on the pilots. Madness.

[quoteWhen was the last time a QF long haul pilot worked a 100 hr month?][/quote]

See above answer.

[balance]

A380, the Qantas 737's are short haul and as such aren't part of the industrial action, but since you ask, the two groups are very similarly paid. The QF 737 guys might be very slightly ahead, but I would hazard a guess at less than $10k p.a. They are very close.

As for the A330's I wouldn't have a clue, but good question though. Perhaps a Virgin A330 driver might like to field that one?

I don't disagree with you on the PR points - we need to be out there and getting the message across to prove that Qantas management are incompetant liars, cheats and thieves.

Cheers...

[Capt Kremin]

QF 737 drivers fly to the exemption as well whereas I believe VB drivers do not.

[gutso-blundo]

And don't forget, even with their higher pay, QF domestic was one of the star performers of the group. Now compare that with Virgin's EOY result and perhaps the pay argument doesn't make so much sense...

[Ngineer]

can see the angst GT has caused, but isn't it true, ie, don't QF pilots and engineers get paid considerably more than virgin et al in Aus, and more than competitors overseas.

We can thrash out which company pays more, however the issue is job security, not money. We are not asking for $$$, just a chance to keep maintaining our airline and it's reputation for safety that was second to none. This issue of pay keeps being brought up by management, not us, and is diverting us away from the real issues/agenda.

[E&H]

Ngineer...interesting point you make about job security...I have been waiting for someone in your union to point this out...you guys are losing this battle on the PR front...when the claims of death threats came out I waited for someone from the union to denounce the threats and yet all they did was to claim that they too were subject to threats...surely it would have been better to denounce the threats and then say something like, "however it is a two way street we too have been getting threats"...make the most of what the qantas spin machine is spitting out...come in on the back of it...use it to your advantage...seems to me you guys are drowning...as an outsider who knows the industry and what really is going on it's frustrating to watch

[jieunni]

when the claims of death threats came out I waited for someone from the union to denounce the threats and yet all they did was to claim that they too were subject to threats

I'm sure there were suggestions from union officials that the threats were fabricated? It was reported in several newspapers.

[Ngineer]

...seems to me you guys are drowning...

Unfortunately I think it's the whole Australian aviation industry. Very soon GT may find himself an expert of a field that no longer exists.

[E&H]

interesting segment on the gruen planet about the death threats...ngineer yeah it's hard not to feel that way however I still think the union is and continues to miss opportunities...this is all about perception if you win that you win the battle...at the present time qantas will just ride it out and wear you down...in actual fact though time is on your side...we (pilots, engineers, staff) think that we have to sew it (contract negotiations) up yesterday instead of playing our employers at their own game...how come we never bring in professional negotiators and pay the money???

[600ft-lb]

how come we never bring in professional negotiators and pay the money???

I think you'll find they did during the EBA8 negotiations. It was a waste of time because Qantas do not negotiate. Look at the entire history of every single EBA negotiation with every employee group and they have all been hostile.

The only thing that lead to an outcome last time not to their liking was the fact that the costs of the battle finally outweighed the gain from the company perspective.

And yes it was $160million supposedly the figure that needed to be reached before Qantas was willing to accept a payrise in total not even 10% of that.

[cbradio]

Just caught a bit of GT on ABC radio. I'm not sure but I think I heard him say QF has lost it's safety advantage because new technology planes don't crash!!