The Network 320s are the same age as a whole bunch of 737s and 717s. Most reliability issues comes down to QF management sacking all the good (expensive) engineers.

Unreliable?.....then perhaps AJ will just give the J* NEOs directly to Network

Zero.

QF still have as many 737's as they ever had.

Yes they do right now but that doesnt mean it wont or cant change very soon.
There are quite a few with leases that expire very soon & a big cost saving can be had by not renewing them.
There are plenty of leisure routes where a very cheaply operated 320 will fit in very nicely & also theres the 330s still in storage that mainline can put on the trunk routes if required.
The 717s are not going anywhere for now,they are gearing up to do maintenance on them in melbourne.
Network arent there for no reason,expansion is a given.

Which pile of money are the QF group using to pay for all these network NEO’s?

the capital budget has shrunk considerably, and the focus is now sunrise.

it sounds like a wet dream for the odd pilot with a chip on his shoulder, but the reality is, the flying plan for the 737 post Covid has it doing more hours than it ever has. So maybe network will expand, and I honestly hope that it can soak up some of the crew who have lost their jobs this year. But any expansion will be because the whole group is growing, not because of some industrial ploy.

C'mon guys, Network replacing 737 flying is about as likely to happen as Jetstar flying trunk routes.............
Hang on a minute :eek:

Did anyone protest when the 73s took over some of the mine charter work previously being flown by Network?
Apparently Mainline 73s still supplement a small chunk of the Charter contracts in WA.
Will the A320s replace the 73s in WA?......yeah probably.
Will they run over some 73 intestate routes in the future?.....probably. Just don't bother whinging about it when it happens.

Agreed.

We can complain that 737 flying has gone elsewhere, but overall the hours are up, not down (pre COVID)..

If the hours reduce then we have a transfer of business problem..

All signs point to greater share of the market for mainline flying, not less.

True, forecasts for the 737 indicate it’ll be flying more later in 2021 than at any point in 2019. The aircraft, even the older ones, have high dispatch reliability and now have all had the wifi fit.

NA’s 320s will probably just be for resource sector growth only, spare parts or to take over a reduction in VA flying. It’ll be hard to attract crew to Network in 2 years once most stood down pilots are back at work and contracts in China are offering triple the pay tax free in USD.

Yous are all so delusional. 717's have been taking over 737 routes CBR and ADL etc, 320's will take over once the 717's are deployed elsewhere to battle REX and Alliance. 737 flying is up because they are taking up the 330 and 767 flights eg PER and SIN. All looks good now but once the market picks up it will be 320's that are expanding in capacity not 737's.

I thought it was Jetstar who were going to take over the world.....

The 320s are gutted with no IFE or wifi and have poor dispatch reliability. You don’t run RPT with aircraft designed for low density flying. Add to that in 2-3 years if international comes back in similar numbers to 2019 there will be a shortage with existing crew. NA will be lucky to hold on to existing crew with those pay rates and overseas contract deals offering substantial tax free commuting contracts.

The QF SH operation is actually quite efficient. A low minimum guarantee and the stand down clauses achieve that. If management really wanted to cut into crewing costs it would be for the LH operation when it returns, even on the 787/350 conditions they far exceed the narrowbody crewing costs. But as they don’t seem to be planning to outsource that flying then I’m pretty sure they haven’t got a secret scheme to outsource SH.

As long as NA keep getting JQ hand me downs I wouldn’t be worried, now if they were getting new NEOs and kitted out interiors then it’s another story.....

I must say i agree with most of this except maybe the delusional part however for those that think the 320s wont start taking over work from the 737 fleet i would think again.
As pointed out the 717 has & will be doing shorter routes once done by the 737 & even doing main city pairs during quieter times.
Even if the 320 is old & unreliable & doesnt have mod cons on board,that wont matter too much,the aim is to lower costs,keep patching them up to keep reliability at a reasonable level & as for ife etc,bad luck for the punter,too late to whinge once paid & in their seat.

That’s because the 737 is needed to do longer routes.

320 has slightly longer legs than a 737

Longer Gear Legs. Less range on a stock 320 compared to 737-800. About 2 tonne extra fuel on the later, similar fuel burns. Neo = different story.

There is so much BS in this thread its becoming embarasing. Just a couple of BS statements:
The Network A320's have to be the most unreliable aircraft in the whole group, certainly not more reliable than the 738.
The 738 has more range than the ex Jetstar A320's, always has, always will.
QF doesn't need an all economy A320 going to Cairns, that what Jetstar is for.
The 717's are operating routes that require 100ish seats. The A320 would be as unsuitable to those routes as the 737 is. They aren't replacing 737's anyway. Most of the routes they are flying have only evenr sporadically been flown by mainline for the last 30 years.
I appreciate most of the Network try hards are new to group, and really haven't got a clue, but stop trying to rewrite history to prove your ****ty aircraft will be the new QF.
FFS, what a bunch of tossers.

In reality these conspiracy theories could have been applied to Eastern, Sunstate, RedQ, Jetconnect, Australian Airlines, Impulse, Jetstar, NJS, Cobham, EFA or any affiliated airline that has had the potential to replace mainline T&C’s over the last 25 years since privatisation. In reality it’s never come to fruition. The current CEO has been in the role for 11 years, and this secret plan to completely outsource mainline has never been seen. In fact at the start of 2020 mainline recruitment was at its highest point possibly since privatisation. Doesn’t sound like a group that secretly wants to get rid of all mainline pilots now does it?

I have worked at an all 320 airline and an all 737 airline. I now work at a mixed 737/A320 airline and I have always seen that the 320 has about a 300 mile longer range than the 737. Are Qantas Airbuses special?

I’m now very intrigued. What variant of 737 (NG or Classic) and 320 (CFM or IAE, etc) are you flying, and what is their respective max fuel capacity in Tonnes?

Not sure we are comparing the same apples here

The 738 carries more full and can fly higher than the A320, while flying at the same speed and fuel burn. Not sure what amazing A320’s (ACT?) or rubbish 737’s you’re operating, but you don’t even need basic math skills to work it out. Maybe you have low MTOW versions of the 737, but even then that’s a weight issue, not a fuel (range) issue.