With Emirates leaving the Auckland routes is this good news for Air NZ? Surely they can compete with Qantas on cost.

Jetconnect
 

Does anyone have any insight to what ramifications this may have on Jetconnect pilots in the long run?

Recall someone mentioned rumours of 2 aircraft heading to mainline fleet. If thats the case and hypothetically speaking all aircraft return to mainline over time what would happen to the pilots working there?

Cheers

I would be surprised if QF didn't have a use for most of the Jetconnect 737 rated and current pilots. If they wrapped up JC and took the airframes home but not the pilots then instead of being 60 crews short on the 737 they would be 110 crews short.
If on the other hand they make the JC pilots mainline crew based in Auckland then the jets can do triangles through Syd Mel and BNE. The jet utilisation would be improved and the pilots would be able to fly the domestic sectors so could do more than they currently can ( 900 rather than 700hours).

I guess being absorbed by mainline would benefit the pilots in regards to pay scales to?

Thanks for the response too.

If this did happen, would their pilots automatically flow to mainline, or would they need to go through the interview process like other Qantas group pilots did?

They would have to go through the recruitment process.

The only way they would continue to operate the 737 is on a temporary basis until current mainline crew were trained. The J C crew would be issued a seniority # at the bottom when they joined, and once a current mainline pilot was trained in seniority they would drop back to SO.

Can’t see it in the short term though. If they did elect to have a NZ base for mainline, which I also can’t see happening, it would be open to all mainline crew to bid for, meaning the JC crew could still end up as SO’s in Australia.

Hopefully for all th operators, the reduction in seats will allow prices to get where they should be!

I reckon JC to be wound up. JC pilots to be put on short term contracts to continue operating 737 on mainline conditions for a period of 1-2 years. This then allows them to operate domestic sectors when they arrive in Australia. They will be given a seniority number and when they finish contract they will be able to interview to stay at Qantas and be given a position there seniority allows.

Qantas has already had discussions about this with AIPA.

Excuse my ignorance, but how does the withdrawal of the EK A380's & the replacement of them with QF A330's & more frequencies with B738's have a negative impact on Jetconnect?

That depends on what you think is negative. There is potential to get extra hours out of both the jets and the pilots by having both jets and pilots be able to depart Auckland or Wellington at 0400 Australian time, arrive in Yssy or Mel or bne at 0730, fly a domestic sector and then cross the Tasman again. The problem is to achieve those efficiencies the pilots have to be able to operate a domestic sector, the negative part could be in solving that problem.

Without EK, QF have lost their Widebody "Premium" product on the Tasman. While the Business offerings in a 737 beats economy, Air NZ are still operating multiple 777/787's daily on the Tasman. If QF don't provide a suitable alternative, they risk losing a lot of Premium passenger to the competition. (Which is fine, we don't mind taking them :ok:)

Then of course there's Capacity, at peak times, it makes a lore more sense to fill up a widebody, utilizing one crew and one frame rather than a convey of 737's leaving within 20 minutes of each other. For this reason, the increase in 738 flying is potentially a short term stop gap until more A330's can be found/crewed. Perhaps the arrival of the 787 will free up some A330's? I'm not familiar with the QF network.

Now, who would operate these Widebody A/C? I can't see QF putting any Heavies on ZK Rego purely for Tasman flying, and that's what has a few people worried.

Yeah, but there is supposed to be an increase in B738 frequencies to cover the shortfall in seats, along with some A330 services. Even if the extra B738 services were done by Oz crew in VH tails, there would still be no detriment to the flying that Jetconnect currently does. The only possible negative impact may be in the future, if the QF group loses business to ANZ, with it's widebody services & the total number of QF group seats each day decreases.

Yea apologies, I edited my previous post for clarity around the extra 738 frequency. I was led to believe it's only temporary to cover the shortfall while QF shuffle the deck chairs, so to speak.

There is a rumour that JC will be shut down. The pilots brought over as contractors in their rank, for a fixed period. After which they will apply to QF etc....... the same set up as the Ansett 737 (767?) pilots deal in 01/02.
AKL base seems very unlikely, but stranger things have happened.

Only rumours, but it been done before.

An AKL base is really needed due to
Tasman timings.
But that said I can see major changes for JC upcoming. Why not have the crew operating VH aircraft on a lower NZ based contract the same as Virgin and JQ to save on compliance of a seperate AOC. Obviously AIPA would need to approve that

It would depend on how long the 'fixed term' was for. If QF want to move the frames back, they will do it, without considering the welfare of JC crew. Just look at their history. I can't see any mainline pilot accepting anything longer than that. From talking to AIPA reps, anything like this would have to be negotiated. Its the pilots that own seniority, not QF, and with the intricacies in the SH/LH award/seniority etc there would have to be some form of agreement. Nothing personal against JC crew, if you're good enough to fly a ZK QF 737, then you should be given a straight path to mainline (as should QLink/JQ etc etc) without jumping through the bull**** HR hoops. But with the 'lost decade' at QF, many of us are keen to see our careers progress, and any arrangement like this would need to be watertight as to not detrimentally effect mainline pilot careers (again)

300,000 seats is a lot of lost capacity. I thought with the initial QF/EK deal, the trans tasman market was one which the ACCC stipulated that capacity needed to be maintained?

Why not?
Cause it's our ******* livelihood that's why

What this sounds like is that with more widebody flying on the Tasman there is less and less flying for JC crew. Thus the rumoured solution for them fly domestically seems more about keeping them working efficiently. The secondary benefit of assisting with shortages of mainline 737 crew is great in the short term but you can perhaps forgive mainline crew for being a bit cagey given how the Jetconnect operation has contributed to the adverse impact on mainline careers over the last decade plus.

There would be plenty of takers for a mainline 737 AKL base. New hires I've spoken to are happy to be heading to Perth so it's disingenuous to think AKL would be considered significantly different.

Moreover, if JC domestic flying requires both CASA and AIPA approval (I don't know), can you imagine the uproar should it be granted. AIPA might die along with the 4 engined beasts.

Might be time to start prepping for a Mainline gig before the next crises hits...or maybe that's what JC needs.

Any chance J C could convert to a widebody fleet 787/330? Doing trans-tasmans then continuing onto an Asian destination as part of a trip.

So the punter moves from the back of a major international airline's premier widebody to the back of an essentially domestic narrow body. That seems like a good deal and a win for everyone (the transit passengers through BNE will luuurrve it) :yuk: