Qantas pilots spit the dummy

The Australian

THE feud between Qantas flight crew and discount off-shoot Jetstar has deepened, with a senior executive accusing the flying kangaroo’s pilots of being overpaid and uncompetitive.
Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce claimed the Qantas pilots’ union was running a disinformation campaign because it was worried Jetstar pilots had agreed to fly international planes for up to $100,000 a year less than their Qantas counterparts.

Mr Joyce rejected claims by the Australian and International Pilots Association that moves to give Jetstar International permission to fly routes that take them up to 180 minutes away from emergency airports would expose the public to “unacceptable risk”. He said this was one of several false claims made by the union as part of its campaign against an industrial agreement with the Jetstar pilots. AIPA is taking legal action against Jetstar for refusing to let Qantas pilots continue flying the A330 aircraft being transferred from Qantas to Jetstar International.

The association is concerned that an agreement accepted by the Jetstar pilots, who are not part of the AIPA, to fly for lower salaries will erode Qantas pay and conditions.

Mr Joyce said the union’s warning was “purely a salary claim and an industrial relations claim” and not about safety.

“They’re in a position where they are becoming vastly uncompetitive with the rest of the aviation market,” Mr Joyce said. “The market is changing — there’s been a major reconstruction of the industry in the US after September 11 through chapter 11 (bankruptcy).”

Mr Joyce said Jetstar believed the salaries it was offering pilots reflected market rates and said this was backed by the fact that Jetstar had more than 1000 applications from pilots.

“It is true a Jetstar captain can be paid about $100,000 less than a Qantas captain, but we believe a salary of $180,000-plus for a 330 captain is very good, and it’s the market rates,” he said.

But AIPA officials said their concerns that Jetstar was not experienced enough to gain the 180-minute approval — known as extended twin-engine operations — were genuine. They denied Qantas crews were too expensive.

They pointed to an Airbus publication recommending that operators with no long-range experience complete a three-month period and 300 flights with 98 per cent reliability before getting 120-minute approval.

AIPA general manager Peter Somerville rejected Mr Joyce’s claim on pilot competitiveness and said Qantas crewing policies lowered costs considerably.

Airlines such as Singapore operated long-haul flights with two captains and two first officers, whereas Qantas operated with a captain, a first officer and two second officers.

“It shows Joyce is just a flim-flam man, he’s a marketer,” Mr Somerville said. “He doesn’t really know the industry.”