Qantas Fleet Grounded 29/10

[amaroo]

That would be the logical/standard way to do it.

Any decent CEO would be happy with this arrangement - no one remembers the soft blokes but the hard "can do" ones write books.

 

[JohnK]

Interesting blog from Ross Greenwood.

Qantas playing the game it wants

Make no bones about it. Qantas has negotiated itself into
exactly the position it wanted to be in.

There is no doubt the inconvenience to passengers through the grounding of
the airline will be of concern to Alan Joyce and the Qantas board ... but they
will consider they can make up the ground in future marketing campaigns.

The bigger issue for the airline is the future of its Asian expansion, and
whether it would be forced to use Australian pilots and engineers on Australian
terms and conditions.

That is not in the Qantas plans whatsoever.

 

[oz_mark]

Interesting blog from Ross Greenwood.

Qantas playing the game it wants

Indeed. Qantas made a strong tactical move that blindsided the unions and the government. The unions were playing their usual tricks, and were outsmarted by a CEO and board who had just, the day before, got a very strong show of support from the shareholders.

 

[kpc]

Irrespective of which side you favour, this Chaser video will bring a laugh!

The Chaser's Qantas video parody goes viral | News.com.au

 

[simongr]

The unions action was not in anyway "Toy Throwing"; maybe more like attention grabbing. The airlines action was a cough act against innocent(unsuspecting) people and not one that will not be forgotten quickly.

Just out of interest - who was impacted by the unions actions? Were those people not innocent? Also in terms of unsuspecting - what about people who changed flights only to have actions cancelled at the last minute.

The unions acted against the travelling public.
The airline acted against the travelling public.

You can argue severity but you can argue who was impacted.

 

[el_rooto]

Just out of interest - who was impacted by the unions actions? Were those people not innocent? Also in terms of unsuspecting - what about people who changed flights only to have actions cancelled at the last minute.

The unions acted against the travelling public.
The airline acted against the travelling public.

You can argue severity but you can argue who was impacted.

The TWU and the ALEA have, not sure if the APIA have impacted the travelling public yet.

 

[medhead]

The TWU and the ALEA have, not sure if the APIA have impacted the travelling public yet.

Those red ties hurt my eyes!

 

[TonyHancock]

Now where am I at?

Ah yes I need some sort of certainty when I travel. QF has provided this by the grounding haven't they?

So am I busily booking QF for my forward bookings?

Not a chance, with a half wit* at the helm I have no idea when he will throw the toys out of the pram when he doesn't get his way and ground the airline again.

Yes I understand the FWA ruling......"Peace for our time" a previous generation may have referred to it as.

So I must be a union sympathiser? Not a chance, in more enlightened times hanging drawing and quartering was a welcome option.

I am a pi$$ed off frequent flyer who would like to see the QF board and the union leadership replaced by people with integrity, and a genuine attempt to make a truly viable business that I will be proud to fly with.

*I know it was a board decision, but Joyce is the public face of that board.

 

[straitman]

Those red ties hurt my eyes!

... and we thought you were colour blind :!:

 

[amaroo]

The TWU and the ALEA have, not sure if the APIA have impacted the travelling public yet.

The AIPA, are equal with the others my young padawan - they were the puppeteer from the first to the last act.

Never one to get their hands dirty - much prefer to have others do it for them, while they play with colourful ties & annoying announcements.

They are just as liable & responsible however, have little stomach for actually standing by their convictions.

 

[straitman]

The AIPA, are equal with the others my young padawan - they were the puppeteer from the first to the last act.

Never one to get their hands dirty - much prefer to have others do it for them, while they play with colourful ties & annoying announcements.

They are just as liable & responsible however, have little stomach for actually standing by their convictions.

An intriguing comment IMHO.

Would you care to elaborate?

 

[amaroo]

Now where am I at?

Ah yes I need some sort of certainty when I travel. QF has provided this by the grounding haven't they?

So am I busily booking QF for my forward bookings?

Not a chance, with a half wit* at the helm I have no idea when he will throw the toys out of the pram when he doesn't get his way and ground the airline again.

Yes I understand the FWA ruling......"Peace for our time" a previous generation may have referred to it as.

So I must be a union sympathiser? Not a chance, in more enlightened times hanging drawing and quartering was a welcome option.

I am a pi$$ed off frequent flyer who would like to see the QF board and the union leadership replaced by people with integrity, and a genuine attempt to make a truly viable business that I will be proud to fly with.

*I know it was a board decision, but Joyce is the public face of that board.

When I started reading this I thought you're in.....but you went out.......then you came in again....then went out.....& then stayed out and never came back.

 

[amaroo]

An intriguing comment IMHO.

Would you care to elaborate?

Three unions fighting and only two prepared/motivated to push their convictions to the limit. I'm no unionist - as can easily be proven from reviewing my previous posts however, I will stand and applaud anyone that fights for their convictions.

How well/smart they fight is another matter, which can be debated at another time.

The pilots had the most to win in terms of salary/conditions/security.......but decided to take the least confrontational route compared to their peers. Smart or cunning....I think cunning.

Why, well in my view they decided they didn't need too. They had two other unions prepared to do all the heavy lifting for them - the spear catches.

Too smart by half for me, true they talked tough, but that was all they did.

When the heat was turned up on Saturday, they harangued the CEO & stated that he had gone mad.....then, they said we didn't strike, we just wore red ties & made silly announcements. IMHO, gutless - you either believe or you don't.

They reminded me of that saying - "turn up after the battle & bayonet the wounded".

I have more respect for the baggage handlers, ramp workers, engineers, catering and so on.

 

[Moody]

The AIPA, are equal with the others my young padawan - they were the puppeteer from the first to the last act.

Never one to get their hands dirty - much prefer to have others do it for them, while they play with colourful ties & annoying announcements.

They are just as liable & responsible however, have little stomach for actually standing by their convictions.

It would save me some time if you just said "Union Bosses, Union Bosses, Union Bosses ...." in every post, amaroo. Same content but quicker to scan over and move on.

And please don't regale us with stories of "Some of my best friends are in a union, but ......" because no sane person will believe you.

But the cure is at hand - stop reading The Australian and listening to Alan Jones. No charge for that advice.

 

[amaroo]

It would save me some time if you just said "Union Bosses, Union Bosses, Union Bosses ...." in every post, amaroo. Same content but quicker to scan over and move on.

And please don't regale us with stories of "Some of my best friends are in a union, but ......" because no sane person will believe you.

But the cure is at hand - stop reading The Australian and listening to Alan Jones. No charge for that advice.

Moody, looks like you selected the most appropriate AFF call sign for yourself

 

[straitman]

The topic please GENTLEMEN :!:

 

[QF WP]

Just got this email:

Hello Lindsay

Now that Qantas has resumed normal operations I would like to update you on what the recent decision by Fair Work Australia means for you.

I apologise sincerely for any inconvenience that you or your family experienced during the grounding of the Qantas fleet between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon.

The decision to lock out some of our employees was an immensely difficult one and one that I did not want to have to make. But it was a decision that we were driven to by the industrial action of three unions, together representing less than 20 percent of Qantas employees.

As of last Friday, industrial action by those unions had forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, disrupted 70,000 passengers and cost Qantas $68 million. Two union leaders had warned that industrial action could continue into next year.

This would have had a devastating effect on our customers, on all Qantas employees and on the businesses which depend on Qantas services.

On Saturday, I came to the conclusion that this crisis had to end. I made the decision to proceed with a lock-out, the only form of protected industrial action available to Qantas under the Fair Work Act, so that agreement could be reached quickly.

Unfortunately, it was necessary as a precautionary measure to ground the fleet immediately after the announcement that a lock-out would take place. While I deeply regret the short-term impact of the fleet being grounded, following the Fair Work Australia decision we now have absolute certainty for our customers. No further industrial action can take place. No more aircraft will be grounded and no services cancelled as a result of industrial action.

You can now book Qantas flights with complete confidence. This is an immeasurably better situation than last Friday, when Qantas faced the prospect of ongoing disruptions, perhaps for another 12 months.

We have now moved into 21 days of negotiations with each of the unions with the assistance of Fair Work Australia. All parties will be treated equally in order to reach reasonable agreements. If this cannot happen, binding arbitration will take place to secure an outcome. We will respect whatever decisions are reached.

Regardless of how and when the agreements are reached, the period of uncertainty and instability for Qantas is over. We are moving forward and putting this dispute behind us.

Our focus now is on our customers. We want to restore your faith by returning our on-time performance to its normal high levels, continuing to invest in new aircraft and lounges and ensuring the best possible in-flight experience.

The end of industrial action means we can concentrate on what matters – getting you to your destination on time and in comfort, offering the best network and frequency of any Australian airline and rewarding your loyalty as a Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Thank you for your patience and for your continued support of Qantas.

Alan Joyce
CEO Qantas Airways

 

[clifford]

It would save me some time if you just said "Union Bosses, Union Bosses, Union Bosses ...." in every post, amaroo. Same content but quicker to scan over and move on.

And please don't regale us with stories of "Some of my best friends are in a union, but ......" because no sane person will believe you.

But the cure is at hand - stop reading The Australian and listening to Alan Jones. No charge for that advice.

I've been following Amaroo's posts on Flyertalk, and am of the opinion that he is a Qantas plant.

Just my 2 bob's worth.

 

[amaroo]

I've been following Amaroo's posts on Flyertalk, and am of the opinion that he is a Qantas plant.

Just my 2 bob's worth.

If only my life was that exciting.

No plant just a FF that is sick to death of unions interfering with my life & business

But thanks for the compliment

 

[medhead]

I think the pilots were playing the long game, myself. I'd also guess their natural inclination is to wear blue undies. So in my estimation they were the most balanced of the three. I also am inclined to believe that management was being rather belligerent simply because the pilots did take action - as limited as it was.