'The Australian' article is paywalled, but here's most:
A '$700 a fortnight allowance' might not cover the costs of required overnight accommodation in Melbourne if say a pilot elected to continue to reside in Mildura, but was rostered on an 0700 hours flight from Melbourne three times in a fortnight, so he had no way of getting to MEL on the first NJS/QantasLink flight of the morning ex Mildura.
Rail operators and road transport operators alike usually base some staff in rural cities (and capitals such as Canberra or Hobart if having operations there!) because they know from experience that you just can't have one or two large city based depots.
Granted, there's risk that if say Hobart continued to remain as an NJS/QFd depot, occasionally a flight deck or cabin crew member might be unable to 'get home' if a plane failed in MEL or there were severe thunderstorms, but going in the other direction from Hobart, a cancelled flight means the same risk for someone who resides in Melbourne or Sydney.
This has all the hallmarks of pointless cost cutting that will lead to reduced reliability - more cancellations.
I'd be interested in the viewpoint of
@jb747 and
@AviatorInsight who will know much more than me about any adverse (or positive) effect on airline operations.
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Scathing Senate report suggests Qantas has failed to learn from its past mistakes
Robyn Ironside
A Senate committee inquiry into regional aviation has delivered a scathing assessment of Qantas’ decision to close three of its Qantaslink bases in Hobart, Canberra and Mildura.
A total of 70 employees, mostly pilots and cabin crew face being displaced by the move which is due to take effect in April, and Qantas makes arrangements for them to “commute” to the nearest major city.
Qantas insisted
the base closures were about relocating its people to where they were most needed, so they would be better able to respond to disruptions and support customers.
But a report tabled by the Senate Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport said the decision had to be viewed in the context of “recent Qantas conduct towards its employees”
This included the
unlawful outsourcing of 1800 ground-handling workers’ jobs during the pandemic, which ultimately cost the airline a $210m fine.
“The process undertaken by Qantas leading up to its announcement on October 1 to close the Canberra, Hobart and Mildura staff bases suggests it has not learned the right lesson from this experience,” said the committee’s report, chaired by Nationals Senator Matt Canavan.
“Committee members heard no evidence to suggest Qantas had listened to the concerns of local councils, members of parliament and regional airports.”
Committee chairman Senator Matt Canavan. Picture: Martin Ollman
The report questioned the reasons provided by Qantas for the base closures which cited “improving reliability of services”, saying there was a risk of more flight cancellations and delays for destinations like Canberra and Hobart.
“Qantas was unable to explain precisely how relocating jobs away from Hobart, for example, would ultimately mean a more reliable service into and out of Tasmanian cities,” the report said.
The report also criticised the package offered by Qantas to the displaced workers, saying it “did not recognise or compensate for the disruption”.
Those workers who wished to remain in the towns they called home, and commute to Sydney or Melbourne, could choose a $700-a-fortnight allowance, plus two-years’ air travel from their home bases, along with a promise of rostering support.
The report questioned whether Qantas would support those arrangements “long term” and made the point that as employees retired or left the airline, their jobs would permanently be lost from those communities.
One pilot who gave evidence to the inquiry revealed he had moved to one of the affected areas as part of a 2024 program designed to “improve staff morale by allowing pilots to nominate a base they would like to go to”.
“At the time, the pilots who took up this offer were told there was ‘no intention to change the base footprint’,” the report said.
“After buying and renovating a house, the pilot explained that receiving the news the base would now be closing was devastating.”
