Possible closure of Canberra, Hobart and Mildura staff bases

[Melburnian1]

A report online from 'The Australian' suggests that QFd is looking to close the above three pilot/second officer and cabin crew bases in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura.

Apparently some staff have only just relocated to these cities (Mildura beinga 'rural city') and while if it goes ahead they'll be offered relocation assistance, it would still be very disruptive, especially if they have families with kids at school.

70 employees are potentially affected.

The review found it'd be better to consolidate operations in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane so that reliability and presumably punctuality would improve.

I can see both sides of the discussion: sometimes if there's weather disruptions in say Melbourne, staff may not be able to get home to Hobart or Mildura that night.

However, surely having some staff in these locations is good for reliability and punctuality?

The review claimed these bases would 'not grow'.

The TWU has criticised the decision and referred to the 2020 closure of bases in Cairns and Perth.

My guess is this is about cost cutting.

 

[RooFlyer]

@Saab34 mentioned this in another thread. Its been having a run in Tasmanian talk back yesterday and today.

This it total cough - Qantas centralising things again, saving money while making vary large profits. Greedy.

The Oz quoted QantasLink CEO Rachel Yangoyan

Ms Papas declined to comment. QantasLink CEO Rachel Yangoyan suggested no final decisions had been made but argued the change would benefit customers.

“Having more team members based at our busiest ports would help us respond more quickly to disruptions and reduce delays and cancellations for our customers,” Ms Yangoyan said.

“If a decision is made to close our Hobart base, there’ll be ongoing work for all of our pilots and cabin crew, and we’re committed to supporting our people through this process.”

Makes you want to puke, doesn't it?

I'd like to know how centralising everyone in Melbourne etc helps when there is an aircraft on the ground in Hobart with crew or engineering irrops.

 

[Saab34]

I am sure someone’s bonus will increase because of this decision.

Let’s see if any heat from the government here will change the decision slightly, seems like the Hobart base is one making the most noise with a senior Labor minister being a local member.

However it seems like the decision has already been made.

 

[markis10]

A report online from 'The Australian' suggests that QFd is looking to close the above three pilot/second officer and cabin crew bases in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura.

It’s not QFd, it’s NJS, aka JQ lite, merging with the Q400 ops. Drop min rest to 8 hrs then you don’t need to have crew at home to operate the first flight out when the last flight in can do it,

 

[RooFlyer]

Drop min rest to 8 hrs then you don’t need to have crew at home to operate the first flight out when the last flight in can do it,

And if one of those crew is crook? What happens then?

 

[hutch]

It’s not QFd, it’s NJS, aka JQ lite, merging with the Q400 ops. Drop min rest to 8 hrs then you don’t need to have crew at home to operate the first flight out when the last flight in can do it,

I don't know much about this, but I would love to think the pilots flying my plane had more than 8hrs downtime.

 

[markis10]

I don't know much about this, but I would love to think the pilots flying my plane had more than 8hrs downtime.

Would you be comfortable knowing they get paid less than your garbo?

 

[hutch]

Would you be comfortable knowing they get paid less than your garbo?

That I'm aware of. But it isn't a like comparison as these regional ops are often the entry position into aviation and they work their way up to higher paid aviation roles...

Fatigue leads to human error. Not just in aviation, but obviously the consequences in aviation can be severe.

 

[markis10]

But it isn't a like comparison as these regional ops are often the entry position into aviation

NJS isn’t regional, they do international, hardly entry level

 

[Saab34]

Those Dash 8 turnarounds they do are tough. In at 8/9pm then out again at 6/7am. Crew probably only get 5/6 hours sleep.

I see Virgin do much longer, ie in late but out the next afternoon, or in during the arvo, and out first thing next morning.

 

[hutch]

NJS isn’t regional, they do international, hardly entry level

I'd gather, that a lot of them are there gaining experience to move onto the next opportunity... Or is there a suggestion that this is the end goal?

 

[dylarr]

However it seems like the decision has already been made.

Indeed, it’s the exact same rhetoric used with the baggage handlers. Decision not final, consultation period, blah blah.

 

[Harrison_133]

The Australian (behind paywall) is reporting that staff have been informed the base closures in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura will go ahead in April next year.

 

[RooFlyer]

The Australian (behind paywall) is reporting that staff have been informed the base closures in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura will go ahead in April next year.

Yes, the decision was no doubt made long ago - they just delayed the 'final signature' to see if some government subsidies might come their way.

Some of the staff at Hobart had already moved at least once due to prior base closures.

A grubby decision but not unexpected.

 

[Saab34]

Sucks for those who have families in a regional area that don’t want to be in the city anymore. I guess it’s a good reminder to younger and future generations of crew that a regional base might not be there 5/10/20 years later.

 

[servicerequired]

Terrible for the Mildura crew - a legacy of Southern Australia Airlines - once upon a time there was also the local engineering business.

Plenty of local FAs that it is always very pleasant to see on the plane.

 

[L2.]

I note from this article in the ABC today that they're suggesting for affected staff to continue residing where they do now, and commute to work in MEL/SYD/BNE:

Qantas to close staff bases in Canberra, Hobart and Mildura

The closure of the three bases will take effect in 2026 and affect about 70 personnel, who will be supported throughout the process, the airline said.

www.abc.net.au

"The changes impact around 70 pilots and cabin crew, who will be offered a comprehensive support package to enable them and their families to remain living in Hobart, Canberra or Mildura, while working out of a major base," a statement from QantasLink said.

"Employees will be offered support for confirmed flights, an allowance to assist with things like accommodation and potential rostering support for a minimum of two years after the base closes.

"Relocation support will be offered to those people who do not want to commute and would prefer to move closer to where they will be working from."

Is this common in Australia? I know that in come countries (e.g. USA) it's very common for airline crews to commute between cities, but it sounds like a terrible lifestyle unless it's for crews working long international trips for several days at a time with big blocks of days off between these trips.

I would have assumed that a big portion of the work for domestic crews would be same day turnarounds, and any overnight trips would probably only be for one night.

 

[Saab34]

Not common. I don’t believe any airline supports commuting here. One pilot I know that got screwed over with a base change after the pandemic said management basically said resign if you can’t take the new base, commuting was not supported and if you are late for shifts expect consequences, for those wishing to try and commute on their own watch.

 

[RooFlyer]

I know that in come countries (e.g. USA) it's very common for airline crews to commute between cities,

And just as common for them to arrive fatigued or stressed when starting a day very early then hoping they'd arrive on time for their shift.

Of course, with Qantas removing the Hobart base, the chances of an ex-Hobart flight being delayed or cancelled gets larger.

 

[markis10]

Of course, with Qantas removing the Hobart base, the chances of an ex-Hobart flight being delayed or cancelled gets larger.

No it doesn’t. NJS doesn’t have spare aircraft, so yet another engine change on the green A220 last week saw a 737 subbed in, which cannot be flown by the HBA crew. Come the end of the month it’s bye A220, hello 737 on the Sydney flights as well. Given the base did both tech and cabin crew and there are 40 folk involved, one could say NJS didn’t have spare crew either, probably out driving garbage trucks to make ends meet on their days off.