NJS and the A220
 

The Qantas Group has put a call out to the public to name their new aircraft after Australian Native Animals.

I think we can all agree aircraft number 1 must be named after the most majestic of Australian Birds…

https://www.qantas.com/au/en/promotions/name-qantas-a220.html


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Second A220 to be named EMU as there are likely to be no type rated International pilots attracted to the NJS offer!

How about Galah?

Even the official propaganda email this morning says Qantaslink A220’s. I guess Gissing lost.

For the first time in the Groups history ‘QantasLink’ branded aircraft will outnumber ‘Qantas’ branded aircraft by the end of this year.

Perhaps Gissings plan was to slowly rebrand the company…

Why not simply reuse the names carried by some early B737s? Failing that, walk around Longreach and adopt some of its street names.

Surely one will ALAN on it?

Would be in appropriate company when parked up next to Galah, Ibis and Pelican.

the 🦤 Dodo bird in honour of AJ

Not much “link” in this rendering from the Qantas website. Given the amount of mainline domestic flying these will end up doing, wouldn’t be surprised that if they do initially come with a “link” livery, that it is soon dropped.


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https://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....973ea3ba1.jpeg

Except that the production sticker is missing the “Link.”

Probably doesn't mean much, given the customer is "Qantas". They could end up being painted in any of the group's liveries, depending on what "Qantas" decides.

Kookaburra is a perfect name for aircraft.

(Although it might turn into Kookaburra McKookaburraface if internet was to decide).

Perhaps kangaroo in whichever aboriginal language the pr team can spin as appropriate for the “national” carrier

Well they’ve heard you, 3D render on instagram story is showing Link. Maybe the -100 will link and -300 not?

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/pprune....215fb5380.jpeg
Large predator that bears some resemblance to the A220. Once ruled the Australian sky’s as Qantas group does now . A predator that will eat away at mainline.

Isnt Gissing the chief of Qantaslink??
I saw an article where he said the 220 was 'a game changer'
So now we have had the 787 gamechanger & soon to be 220, 321xlr gamechanger & 350 gamechanger.
Big bonuses for being so clever🤦‍♂️

Alan Joyce should be honored as he slithers quietly out the door.


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Admittedly, the vulture isn’t native to Australia. But neither is he.

Bustard would be a good one!

Just to clarify, what is the % increase in wages for NJS pilots going from the 717 to the 220?

Asking for pilots wanting to apply to NJS to fly the 220.

b

As far as T&Cs go, overall it is a % decrease. The pay is identical; however, lifestyle provision are reduced or removed. Management like to call it “strategic imperative”—40 percent of the pilots call it BS.

The EBA is ratified and on the FW site. Hope that helps.

"The aircraft is name Kangaroo so we are allowed to bounce the landing"

"Emu" - since large numbers of A220s are presently flightless with GTF engine issues

The Bin Chicken 🤣

Bin Chicken for being the lowest paid pilots in Australia.

An IBIS is actually pictured in the official instagram video as a suggestion.

If they were.

AirNorth, Alliance and some others from the west take that honour.

Aaahhhhh cmon, dont let the truth get in the way of a good story!

The truth is NJS pilots are being left well behind. Rex 737 EBA* has a similar base salary but when their allowances are factored in, they're clearly ahead. Alliance in BNE also have similar base salaries but are miles ahead when allowances are factored in, plus they're based in BNE. Network's proposed EBA even has most pilots clearly ahead of NJS. A friend at NJS tells me that most of the frequent complainers on the NJS pilot private FacePprune group about hotel quality, rosters, transport and jealousy of other airlines getting bonuses and salary increases...openly voted yes to their woeful EBA!

*if/when it comes into effect

Lots of dick measuring going on here. So NJS voted yes to a sh!t agreement after being threatened with being out of a job, perhaps put yourself in their shoes. Could you take the risk? I have no idea what good it does having a spray at your fellow pilots, all you’re doing is increasing the divide. Why don’t we start acting like a group of people who have a common enemy.

God forbid you lose your job at one of the ****test, low paying, bottom feeding, undercutting jet operators in Australia. They could have walked out of NJS and into one of the plethora of other operators that QF have decided to slap a kangaroo on the tail of the next day. Also if they did decide to make good on the threat of giving the A220 to a different operator where do you think they would have found a bunch of suitable pilots to operate them…

It was a spineless short sighted move to accept that contract and now they have to pay the price for it. I hope they all find better paying jobs somewhere where their skills and experience are valued and they learn a valuable lesson about taking the pineapple next time a company threatens them at the negotiating table.

Do NJS pilots not get allowances or incentives on top of the base too? They used to.

Nope I don’t consider that a big statement at all. At what point would you have actually stood up for yourself and not just bent over? They are now reaping what they’ve sewn and have no leg to stand on at all regarding any complaints.

Fleet up for retirement - who else was going to do the work? There was not a pilot surplus. There were some coming back, but that was drying up. ‘Plan B’ / Network was already in shambles missing key management staff and already understaffed pilot-wise. Their AOC also doesn’t have the greatest safety record. Sounds like a great subsidiary to give the work to. Surprise surprise they ended up offering sign up bonuses to try and get people. The dash drivers certainly weren’t getting it either.

2 years of little to no pay also isn’t correct. The 717 flew probably the most out of the group during covid. Some 717 bases barely got stood down. Even so, wouldn’t you already be angry enough to want to stand up for yourself after being screwed around during covid by the company. Then when the industry improved only to be kept in the dark and expected to say how high when they say jump! Half the NJS pilots weren’t where they wanted to be anyway with cairns and Perth closed and being forced to move to Melbourne. Also no one could get a brisbane base and won’t for some time. What did they have to lose?
No wonder there were high resignations and sick leave after this period.

Pilot surplus - see above.
In addition to above, this was Easter 2022. Demand was sky high if you don’t remember the delays flying around that time. Covid was looking like it was ending. Everything was roaring back, not just here. Why do you think Qantas put on massive time pressure to get it through when every airline normally always drags the chain during negotiation time. They aren’t silly. They could see demand coming back and the pendulum swinging in the pilots favour. After a 3 year pay freeze, being shuffled around not where you want, to operate a plane that carry’s 20 something percent more pax at 20 something percent more fuel efficient, on short haul flights, while also giving up other eba clauses.

Critical thinking clearly wasn’t their strong point.

Voting YES to a rubbish agreement and complaining about it afterwards is a bit rich! You could have voted NO!
You made your bed now lie in it.

Dont let a the truth get in the way of a good story…Pinkpanther why did you delete your post that has a reply to it #34??

:=

No one is disagreeing that it was a crap deal. They knew it was. The reality is 160 pilots on a retiring fleet really had very little influence in the environment of the time. Let's no forget, the pilot body was very heavily spilt in the yes/no vote and even management knew it might not go through. Had SH not voted up their amendments for the 321 the day prior to the NJS vote then maybe there would have been a more united front.

I left this mob over a year ago so don't really have a horse in the race anymore, but I think it's rich to call them spineless. The NJS pilot group took PIA in 2018 and got significant improvements (at the time) to their EBA.

Maybe if the Australian pilot community weren't so toxic then we could actually work together. Alas, the powers that be only need to sit back and watch us implode from the inside.

Someone suggested that the A220 was never going to go to Network because it was, itself, a basket case. So I’m told, the threat (or promise) was made by JG and he was serious. The A220 was going to be operated under the Network AOC with the 717 pilots withering away along with the aircraft. They would then be offered an “opportunity” to bid over to the A220, given a contract on a, take it or leave it, basis. That contract was rumoured to closely mirror the award, i.e. a huge reduction in pay and conditions.

I’m not happy that my fellow pilots voted this agreement up either, but the fact remains that QF have shot from the industrial hip before and they seem to have an appetite for recklessness while doing so. Obviously the NJS pilots ran the situation through their T&M model and took what they considered was the least risky decision. We as a wider pilot community should understand that philosophy as one would hope it forms a large part of what we do day to day.

An important point that has conveniently been overlooked by the haters is that the unions, namely the AFAP and the TWU both said they believed the pilots would lose this fight. AIPA were, and still are, dragging their feet on allowing NJS pilots full membership. What hope did they have with two unions folding and a third fostering the divide?

I have a number of good friends at NJS and I can say that none of them are out to undercut anyone else. Just like all of us in Australian aviation, they just want to earn a living and provide for their families.

Try hating the system and back those who had no choice for fvcks sake.

Pinkpanther does have a point, NJS were the last reasoanble sized pilot group I can think of that took a stand and got a decent improvement a few years prior, Jetstar tried I guess but then covid, and the last i remeber was Virgin nearly 20 years ago.

Qantas shorthaul overwhelmingly voted in favor of the companies SIs by varying an EBA that wasn't even up for renewal... that certainly didn't help the NJS cause either.

Plenty of chest beating from a couple of recent posters here about how everyone else is the problem, but they are certainly not leading thier own pilot groups on another path.
Infact they probably dont even work as pilots or in Australia and are little more than a 'man gets angry at a cloud' type.

Thanks gordonfvuckingramsay. From someone who lived through this ****ful time yours is an accurate account of how it played out. Not a single pilot wanted to put Yes on their ballot and it pained those of us who HAD to. NJS and Qantas played dirty and won because the pilots had zero leverage and they knew it. There was no negotiation. Just vote Yes to this tripe, meet our strategic imperatives or you will be applying for your current job at Network with no guarantee of your current base or rank. Despite Network being the basket case we were told Qantas would have thrown enough money at that operation to get the 220 operation off the ground. Qantas would have made an example of NJS pilots if we were to revolt. We literally had the gun cocked at our temple!

On the upside, its all coming back to haunt them. Pilots with low morale don't give any more than they have to. Their incentives to do extra aren't enticing most pilots to work on days off or outside their rostered duty. Sick leave is higher than its ever been. Many have left or are actively looking and despite scouring the globe no one wants to come and fly the shiny new jet for the conditions they are offering. Lets see where we end up!

Meanwhile Gissing and his twit of a COO are both leaving, making off like bandits…..