Qantas books jet into Singapore for work

[Yada Yada]

Qantas books jet into Singapore for work
March 22, 2006 - 6:14AM

Qantas has booked in at least one of its 747s for an overhaul in Singapore despite promising only a fortnight ago to keep the heavy maintenance of its jets in Australia.

The airline's chief executive Geoff Dixon announced on March 10 Qantas would not send engineering work to Asia for at least two years. However, it said it would move its Sydney operation to Melbourne.

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Oops!

 

[JohnK]

Good one Geoff! I see you are trying to save money for your next bonus!

 

[aus_flyer]

Good one Geoff! I see you are trying to save money for your next bonus!

Classic comment. So, so true.

 

[Dave Noble]

If the price is good, then it makes perfect sense to go there.

Why pay more than you have to

Dave

 

[Yada Yada]

If the price is good, then it makes perfect sense to go there.

Why pay more than you have to

Yes, from the airline's perspective. But I don't think the govt is thinking about the money.

 

[Dave Noble]

If the price is good, then it makes perfect sense to go there.

Why pay more than you have to

Yes, from the airline's perspective. But I don't think the govt is thinking about the money.

I was under the impression that Qantas is a company with legal obligations to serve the interests of shareholders and not keep howard the duck happy

Dave

 

[serfty]

... I was under the impression that Qantas is a company with legal obligations to serve the interests of shareholders and not keep howard the duck happy

Dave

Legally and Literally that is true. However, the perception of Joe Public would appear to be different.

The govt. can promote themselves: "Hey, vote for us some more because we kept jobs within Oz by keeping those nasty SQ people out of OZ-US".

When Qantas suddenly assign *some* of that work overseas, the above promotion loses some of its puff.

 

[NM]

Legally and Literally that is true. However, the perception of Joe Public would appear to be different.

The govt. can promote themselves: "Hey, vote for us some more because we kept jobs within Oz by keeping those nasty SQ people out of OZ-US".

When Qantas suddenly assign *some* of that work overseas, the above promotion loses some of its puff.

So in my book its the government trying to win votes that looks silly, not Qantas.

And has anyone in the Australian Government or Qantas actually make a link between the SQ trans-Pacific issue and the location of QF maintenance work? That seems to be an assumption made by many people but I am yet to see any hard evidence that it is anything more than timing coincidence.

 

[Yada Yada]

The minister and the prime minister were both singing from the same songsheet on this, denying that the issues were linked. Which for me pretty much indicated the opposite. :roll:

A number of news services quoted Truss, e.g:

Transport Minister Warren Truss said then there was no "understanding" Qantas would retain its heavy maintenance capability in Australia in exchange for the decision to keep SIA off the trans-Pacific route. But said he had made it clear to Qantas it was "strongly in the national interest" for the Sydney-based airline to retain its local skill base. More...

Perhaps Truss only had to say to Dixon, "We're thinking about keeping SQ out of the trans-pacific route, and would appreciate any support you can give us on possible future employment issues that may arise". Dixon: Yes, I understand.

 

[NM]

The minister and the prime minister were both singing from the same songsheet on this, denying that the issues were linked. Which for me pretty much indicated the opposite. :roll:

The cynic and the realist in me says the probability of some background "understanding" between the parties high. But I don't think we should be stating it as fact unless there is strong evidence to support the claim. It would make for an interesting episode of Yes Minister. I can just see how Sir Humphrey would present the "facts" to his minister.

 

[Yada Yada]

The cynic and the realist in me says the probability of some background "understanding" between the parties high. But I don't think we should be stating it as fact unless there is string evidence to support the claim. It would make for an interesting episode of Yes Minister. I can just see how Sir Humphrey would present the "facts" to his minister.

That is exactly what I was thinking. :wink:

 

[NM]

I still believe this issue of sending one 747 to Singapore for a maintenance procedure is a media and union beatup. It seems reasonable to me to expect some change-over time to relocate equipment, tooling etc from SYD to AVV and that during that change-over period the overall maintenance capacity in Australia will be temporarily reduced.

 

[Yada Yada]

I still believe this issue of sending one 747 to Singapore for a maintenance procedure is a media and union beatup. It seems reasonable to me to expect some change-over time to relocate equipment, tooling etc from SYD to AVV and that during that change-over period the overall maintenance capacity in Australia will be temporarily reduced.

I agree. I also believe that this decision to send one jet to SIN for maintenance must have been known during the period of negotiations. Surely they did not just make a snap decision about it. In which case why would they not advise the unions at the time? It's all a bit strange.

Anyway, I heard on the news this morning that maintenance workers are stopping work at MEL, SYD and BNE in protest.

 

[NM]

Anyway, I heard on the news this morning that maintenance workers are stopping work at MEL, SYD and BNE in protest.

And they wonder why QF was considering moving their jobs overseas :roll: :roll: . Simple solution to the strike issue is to send one more 747 to Singapore for each day they remain on strike.

 

[Kiwi Flyer]

That would be an expensive way to get the point across. Pretty soon you have no 747s left to carry pax and freight (you know the ones who pay the bills)

 

[Yada Yada]

Here is a follow up story...

Overseas maintenance speculation: Qantas
April 3, 2006 - 9:24AM

Qantas has dismissed as speculation claims that it is planning to service two more jets offshore, although the airline has said it is in ongoing talks with overseas maintenance firms.

Qantas angered its workers earlier this month with a cost-saving move to service one of its jets in Singapore while it winds down its Sydney maintenance base and moves it to Avalon, in Victoria.

Members of the Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) said they were concerned about reports two more jets will be serviced in Hong Kong and Switzerland.

The ALAEA on Monday took the matter to the Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), saying Qantas had refused to confirm its maintenance plans.

Maintenance workers argue Qantas has not followed the agreed protocols on outsourcing as set out in their enterprise agreement.

More...