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.