Nice work, Steve.

20 out of 10 Steve. Well done. !!!!

Maybe helps explains why 42% of pilots actively work against the companies interets.

Virgin cops a lot on the financial front and rightly so for some questionable decision making, but they have replaced 737s in the last 7/8 years 2 vs 1 against QF.

Going into mid next decade Virgin will have a 737 fleet age 1/3 that of QF.

This is the time Virgins capex will slow down for 10–15 years while QF has large fleet bills in the back half of this decade, and this is the point where I expect him to handover the reins to some poor body who is faced with impending fleet bills that will wipe the profitability of the company for many years and trying to work out how they are going to pay for all these neo’s and max replacements.

My admiration for Steve knows no bounds. This article, free from bias and hyperbole resists the temptation of becoming partisan. No mean feat, when as a leader he would be faced with regular frustrations from his political opponents.

Geoff Dixon wasn’t the most popular bloke, but that wasn’t his job. Steve has let the facts of Dixon’s time at the helm speak for itself, and equally those of Joyce.

The apparent transfer of $60 mil from the pockets of the rank and file into those of senior management, and the blatant pretense of it, really highlight the depths of dishonesty that is rife in corporate Australia.

Time for a change? Yeah right!

Awesome article Fed Sec.

The comments posted below the article tells a tale.

I wonder what would happen if the rumours of * cough * alleged wage theft became public?

Around the same age as most of the 330’s, 747’s and 737’s.

You sure about that?

I went through an airport recently and watched him scurry into the QF first class lounge.
The Business class lounge was like an dirty overcrowded zoo.
Any decent CEO with some personality and leadership might have used such an opportunity to see the coal face and check the feedback from his customers firsthand.

The QF product is in decline.
Qantas prices and Jetstar quality while gouging Australians who have to travel internationally. Credit to those staff that keep smiling and delivering a great service but they are getting harder to find.

QF is my last choice while he is in charge.

Well written Steve. As you point out, it’s all about juggling books. The airline does not make the cash profit it makes out to people that it does. Not upgrading an airlines fleet, running fuel and maintenance costs between both of its airlines and a host of other financial tools at its disposal helps it to paint the whatever picture it wants at any given time.

But I digress. Alan Joyce worked for Ansett. There were meetings between himself, Geoff Dixon and a few other players which included another Ansett man, Bill Jauncey. Together they hatched Jetstar, an LCC that was meant to take up all the low yielding routes and leave the cream to Qantas. Profits galore at both end of the spectrum - Qantas a premium service and Jetstar the bogus service. Jauncey once described Joyce as ‘one of the smartest money men you will ever meet’. That is the only compliment I will give Joyce; he has a brilliant business mind. But he is a selfish, self centered, self indulging narcissist. A weak little man with no backbone.

Of late, most of Alan’s “protected species”, faceless men and women who link back beyond the JQ machine to the Ansett days, are leaving, and getting big redundancies of course. Alan is preparing to bail. It’s all in the timing. He is looking after his loyalists as he prepares to exit the beginning. Timing is everything, and Joyce is going to truly leave behind a steaming turd for someone else to massage. Just like Borghetti has done to Scurrah. A steaming pile of nothing that is so brittle that when the next financial, health or oil crisis hits, there will be financial ruin. These airlines are like helium balloons. Just a thin skin protecting an empty void. Joyce is not worth the $100m he has been paid. It is obscene. However the weasels on the Board and the greedy capitalist shareholders love him. And hey, who can stop him??

To be fair to those numbers Cathay & Dragon, Singapore & Silk (soon to be Singapore and Scoot)?

Would it be closer comparing QF INT the EK, EY, etc?

apparently if we add in the subsidiaries like Jetstar and Q Link.
his 1/4 to 1/2 would mean those QF subsidiaries would need to have a fleet between 120 to 420 for his statement to be accurate. Then if we add in subsidiaries like Cathay Dragon, Scoot, and Silkair..........

Agree with Steve 100%

The ground staff have been one of the hardest hit re slashing and burning, and are a good 30% understaffed at pretty much every airport Australia wide, I’m amazed they aren’t even grumpier, their days are non stop chaos, it’s horrendous. So maybe cut them a break next time you interact with them, I know I do.

The rot and undercapitalisation goes much further than just planes. 10+ year old computers (brand new on Bourke st) 30+ year old tugs, ancient tools, cars, forklifts, buses you name it they’ll let the airline go broke before they spend money on the equipment required to run an airline. Every piece of machinery imaginable is constantly broken down waiting for parts because they don’t want to carry any inventory.

The under capitalisation of equipment is dwarfed only in the underinvestment in people. How many AMEs are getting licensed every year? Apprentices trained and employed? Upskilling of LAMEs is non-existent.
The amount of individual contractors, labour hire and EBA holding companies (Jetconnect, QGS, MAM, QFCCUK) is utterly shameful.

These are things that won’t make the wheels fall off entirely but the costs over time become enormous. The good thing for those responsible is they can readily shift the blame which is every Qantas managers sole priority.

I may be wrong but I don’t think you’ll find anyone on a Qantas Group EBA working split shifts. More likely at your swissport/Aerocare/Oceania third party ground handlers.

I assume that was your one and only experience upon which you judge all Qantas ground staff then? I get good and bad at the dealership where I have my car serviced , at Coles , Woolworths and Aldis but I don’t pass judgement on all their staff because of one bad experience.

What annoys me is the smarmy and expensive PR image QF projects versus the sad reality of the constant cost cutting. There are still a few decently trained staff but seeing them have to hand out crap food labelled a “Neal Perry gourmet creation” is just plain depressing to watch.

Here’s the reply from Qantas. I have done some work on the 2014 versus 2019 annual reports and can’t come up with anything on her fleet claims, anyone help please? I note no rebuttal of the executive bonuses been covered by the wage freeze. Here’s what I found and I don’t claim it’s gospel.

2014. 2019. Difference

Revenue. $15,352. $17,966. +17%

Fuel. $4,461. $3,846. -13.7%

ASKs. 141,715. 151,430. +6.85%

If I’m correct they have grown yield greater than the amount of flying they do, good for them however I will say that IMO they abuse there near monopoly position domestically by price gouging and that despite what they might like to say the decrease in the price of fuel has provided a huge addition to the bottom line.

https://www.smh.com.au/business/comp...22-p5336f.html

Well that’s sorted then.

Qantas is in such good financial shape that is should quite happily reward employees in upcoming EBAs.

Thanks Vanessa!