Qantas to play tough on 'Sunrise' pilots deal
The Australian, Australia by Robyn Ironside
03 Oct 2019
Business News - Page 21 - 461 words - ID 1180276356 - Photo: Yes - Type: News Item - Size: 173.00cm2


Qantas boss Alan Joyce has warned he will shelve the airline's ambitious Project Sunrise if a new agreement is not reached with pilots to operate the ultra-long-haul flights by the end of the year.

During the unveiling of the first refurbished A380 in Sydney on Wednesday, Mr Joyce said negotiations with pilots should not take months or years.

"It's not Brexit," he said. "We are hoping to have a good dialogue with them but we can't put an order in for a new aircraft unless we know the business case is going to meet the thresholds." Qantas's firm stance on such issues was why the airline was in "the great position it is today".

"We are going to have a hard nose on this," said Mr Joyce of the planned non-stop flights from Australia's east coast to cities such as New York, London and Paris. "It's a very exciting project but it is not too big to fail and if we don't have a business case we won't do it because that's what our shareholders expect." There were other projects Qantas could invest its money in, such as the booming loyalty program, Mr Joyce said. "We could invest our money quite well in that business to grow our earnings even further. We will be very disciplined on this," he said.

Asked what he was seeking from pilots, Mr Joyce said he wanted to see similar productivity gains to those agreed to when the Boeing 787s were introduced. "(Such as) how the aircraft can be operated, what are called night credits and how they're applied (and) the flexibility of moving people around aircraft," he said. "There are a lot of little items that can all add up to a significant cost to us if we don't get them bedded down before we get an agreement." The Australian and International Pilots Association has indicated it would be challenging to meet the end-of-year deadline but did not wish to comment while negotiations were continuing.

Qantas will go ahead with a series of test flights using mostly empty Boeing 787-9s, with the first, from New York to Sydney, to take place in a fortnight. Mr Joyce said he would be on board that flight, and another next month from London to Sydney.

"It's important you demonstrate you're willing to do it," he said. "It's a very big occasion in aviation and the world is going to be watching." He would not be involved in scientific experiments to test how pilots and passengers coped with the ultra-long flight.

"We've got . equipment that monitors brainwaves and the (scientists) said 'you might want to try it on the flight'," Mr Joyce said. "My PA said 'no one wants to see what's in your brain Alan

I have an early wedding present for you Mr Joyce you conned us once and you won’t con us a second time all the pilots I speak to say let it sink we couldn’t care less.

All he has done is pour petrol on the fire of hatred by pilots towards him and management. When you wake tomorrow morning in your northern beaches weekender Alan look out the window to sea and watch Sunrise sinking beneath the waves.

Seriously, I must have missed something, where did it say 100 times or more better than QFs?

Please explain then.

No EBA at Qantas is ever resolved in a few months. They always take 6-18 months and that is when everything is going swimmingly.
Take IR out of the picture if you want a decent EBA turnaround.

Rated - you cannot say pilot costs count for nothing. I certainly agree in the grand scale the % cost to the operation is certainly not what they are trying to imply to Joe Public.

Sunset on Sunrise....... nah I don’t think so. If their is an aircraft capable to do it, it will happen.

Well that’s my 2.3 cents worth!!!

If it actually plays out like that then it will probably be the biggest hospital pass in Australian Corporate history. The next CEO is going to wear a lifetime of Capex and rebuilding with basically all the assets sold off.