Qantas group to cut all International routes and stand down two thirds of its staff

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ja1

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As it just rolled across the news this morning that Qantas has now joined VA in cancelling all international flights by the end of the month.

It said it would stand down 2/3rds of its staff across Qantas and Jetstar (30,000 staff?) through leave, LWOP, early access to long service leave, sick leave, leave in advance (4 weeks).

So with both Australian flag carriers not flying internationally for presumably 3 months, how does international travel work for people now (presumably the point is that it doesn't.. but who keeps flying here ? SQ, BA, DL, ANZ, united, Cathay etc ?)
 
Just heard that Qantas is cancelling all international flights. I'm a late age traveller and been a Qantas FF for nearly 20 years. I was very saddened to hear the news, even with the extension of the loyalty program. It was like losing a family member with some grieving taking place. Where will it end. International travel is mostly what I do, perforce.
 
This is extremely annoying to me. In an attempt to attain Platinum this year with the view of getting a soft landing to Gold the following year ( in order to get first go at rewards flights for an upcoming trip to Europe the year after) I commenced a program of status runs and creative routing. The last of these flights were booked to commence in May. So now I am in the position whereby I have spent money for no reason because I won’t be able to complete the program before the end of my member year, May 31. Small problem in the big scheme of things but annoying nether the less.
 
FrustratedQP said:
This is extremely annoying to me. In an attempt to attain Platinum this year with the view of getting a soft landing to Gold the following year ( in order to get first go at rewards flights for an upcoming trip to Europe the year after) I commenced a program of status runs and creative routing. The last of these flights were booked to commence in May. So now I am in the position whereby I have spent money for no reason because I won’t be able to complete the program before the end of my member year, May 31. Small problem in the big scheme of things but annoying nether the less.
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Were all in the same boat mate, i'm down probably 60k USD in income and had enough flights booked for a move from gold to plat. I havent even worked out yet where i stand with status hold and such. The good news is, if QF are unable to provide service then they gotta refund in cash, so at least I can get the cash money I have on flights back and use it elsewhere untill things calm down.
 
rollin7 said:
Yes! Cash refunds, no travel vouchers?
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The press release mentions cancelled flights will be automatically converted into a travel credit, with Qantas notifying customers from Monday.

Does not mention at this stage whether cash refund is available ...
 
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SeatBackForward said:
2nd time in Alan Joyce's time!
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Rather different this time. The first was an engineered attempt at breaking contracts...basically industrial bullying. There is no choice about this, although it will probably achieve what he wanted the first time.

It’s very easy to shut airlines down, but I expect that it will prove to be much harder to restart them. Even a disruption to international travel as short as 3-6 months, would almost certainly result in well over a year of reduced leadings, as people hesitate to travel again. My guess is that airlines that do manage to restart after all of this, will be dramatically smaller than they were before, and that it will take multiple years to get back to anything like their current size.

I would not be at all surprised if the 380s never come back on line.
 
jb747 said:
Rather different this time. The first was an engineered attempt at breaking contracts...basically industrial bullying. There is no choice about this, although it will probably achieve what he wanted the first time.

It’s very easy to shut airlines down, but I expect that it will prove to be much harder to restart them. Even a disruption to international travel as short as 3-6 months, would almost certainly result in well over a year of reduced leadings, as people hesitate to travel again. My guess is that airlines that do manage to restart after all of this, will be dramatically smaller than they were before, and that it will take multiple years to get back to anything like their current size.

I would not be at all surprised if the 380s never come back on line.
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The most insightful post I have read on here for a while. Thanks JB.
 
jb747 said:
Rather different this time. The first was an engineered attempt at breaking contracts...basically industrial bullying. There is no choice about this, although it will probably achieve what he wanted the first time.

It’s very easy to shut airlines down, but I expect that it will prove to be much harder to restart them. Even a disruption to international travel as short as 3-6 months, would almost certainly result in well over a year of reduced leadings, as people hesitate to travel again. My guess is that airlines that do manage to restart after all of this, will be dramatically smaller than they were before, and that it will take multiple years to get back to anything like their current size.

I would not be at all surprised if the 380s never come back on line.
Click to expand...

Would the reduced flying hours by the crew also have an impact ? surely hours spent in simulators can't equate up for the real-life hours.
 
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