Government's $1.2 billion 'ticket to recovery' offers 800,000 half-price airfares
 

Qantas and Virgin will also be provided monthly retention payments that will be used as part subsidies for the wages of 8600 international aviation employees and ensure planes are flight-ready in anticipation of overseas travel resuming when the vaccination rollout concludes in late October

Seems Sharpie missed out here.

EAD Sharpie you corrupt old fool!

So what exactly does this mean for us international crew?

“Airlines will receive federal payments to keep about 8600 workers in jobs until international travel resumes in November, with Qantas and Virgin asked to prove their readiness to restart long-haul flights.”

Doesn’t inspire confidence that we’ll actually receive any cash to get us by until then. Hope I’m wrong.

Nor does it deal with the fundamental problem domestically - leakage from hotel quarantine and arbitrary state border closures. Doesn’t matter how cheap the fares are if borders don’t stay open or people don’t have the confidence they’re not going to be slapped with 14 days quarantine or locked out of their home state again.

I’m also pretty confident Virgin won’t be able to ‘prove its readiness to restart long-haul flights’.

I’d like to know how the government and airlines would deal with crew all stood down again after being stood up and giving up their secondary employment? The response I’m sure would be something along the lines of, “That’s a hypothetical and we don’t deal in hypotheticals.”.

Exactly how does the “Longhaul payments” benefit Virgin?

What a half arsed approach.

Really?? why please explain.

The idea is not to give cash directly as in the form of a job keeper 2.0. I think its a far better idea this will make premiers think a little harder and have less knee jerk reactions to closing borders and entire states over 1 case as this method is providing a massive boost to tourism in the form of actual tourist. Only paying half price the punters will have confidence now and will soak this up like a sponge in water.

It won’t. They will get a proportionate amount compared to QF. They already made that call to axe the fleet QF has not. Those jobs are already gone. Virgin will need to wear those widebody costs in a number of years when they re launch.

Taxpayers cannot subsides wages forever and so they shouldn’t. Don’t tell me this is is breaking news to anyone, I mean it’s been coming for months.

I think the term used was International not ‘long haul’ travel!

I honestly doubt they will soak it up. Its not an extensive list and what's stopping the airlines from just jacking up prices? It won't benefit the employees and there will still be many jobs lost.

I firmly believe that the border closures are pretty much a thing of the past because of the vaccine rollout. If only the federal government took responsibility at the start for hotel quarantine or had a national approach it could have been a different story. Not worth derailing this thread by arguing about borders like every other discussion on this forum.

This policy won't save jobs and it's just a policy to make it look like the government is doing something.

It’s not all about propping you Qantas and Virgin. The tickets are about boosting the local destinations at the other end. Qantas and Virgin are getting subsidies for Airport charges, training and maintenance.

If people are stood down because of certain states making certain decisions, well then those states can pay the wages of stood down staff.

Stood Down Long Haul staff sitting on the fence waiting for some form of wage subsidy, I mean are you living on mars?

As I said, border closures will be a thing of the past. The government never shuts up about jobs, I can't see how this policy keeps them.

You local FNQ tourism operators won’t need to shut down now and keep the business going because an influx of tourists are about to arrive? Jobs saved?

With many of us about to go to the wall. The onus is really on the employer to actually do the right thing with this international subsidy.

Unfortunately, the organisation I work for ( or worked for ) have not been transparent or abiding by the rule set when dishing out Jobkeeper. Personnaly I had 5 jobkeeper payments simply disappear never to be seen or heard of again.

I simply dont trust a managment structure that is completely out of touch whith the stark realities facing International pilots. Fuzzy rhetoric and glossy e magazines with domestic crew having a ball dont help or pay the bills.

If this rubbish drags on towards the end of the year it will simply be too little too late for many financially. Including me. And I am one of the more fortunate ones.

Sure they want the aircraft flight ready. How ready will Piots be after this event?

There is a VERY large elephant in the room here that is convienently being ignored by all in charge. Long Term Mental health.

Expect nothing from your employer or the government and you wont be dissapointed.

Look after your selves guys.

MCD.

Ticket prices will double and the influx will be negligible.

It will be interesting to see how this is managed, ie the Airlines website, or a tourism website. One will price gouge the other won’t.

Rex and qantaslink have been gouging with RANS by increasing prices to ensure pax loads are low enough to be eligible, it's a win-win for them. I am certain something similar will happen with this.

Government is screwed whatever approach they take, can’t please everyone.

If this is a real attempt at a domestic tourism stimulus then it has to be a good thing. It will be easy for us to see if the sales and seats are real by checking loads. There are plenty here driving all airlines.

It is a cold hard fact that there will be no international holidays so let’s hope that this encourages and converts into domestic bookings.

Now let’s hope the ground based tourism businesses don’t go crazy with prices and provide a great service. Yes I am kind of pointing the finger at hotels, prices can kind of remind me of when we had only two airlines to choose from.

Now keep borders open!

I fail to see how this will change anything...

People have been on JobKeeper for a year now (including people not in aviation / tourism). This support is about to end.

The government want people to start taking local holidays, which are already more expensive than international holidays most of the time.

So they give half price flights to 800,000 people. What were these fares originally? $100-150? So they’ve saved $50-75 each way.

People still need to pay thousands for the rest of their holiday that hasn’t been offered support. Albeit, a small ‘low interest’ loan.

What a joke.

What the hell will be a “half-priced” fare anyway?
Half of the full Y Class fare???
yeh right.