Qantas to move 717 heavy maintenance to Singapore

[Flying mermaid]

I know Aus is a high cost country, but it seems bizarre it is cost effective to fly the 717s to Singapore and back to get heavy maintenance done!

Qantas contractors in Canberra out of work as jobs move to Singapore

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Spirit of Australia huh?

 

[henrus]

Given that some of the 717's are as old as the 747's (which are currently being retired), ones got to wonder how much longer the 717's will be flying around Australia.

E170/190's or the A220 seems like the logical replacement but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long they hold off.

 

[Flying Fox]

Spirit of Australia huh?

No point having Australian Spirit if you are unprofitable and then need to file for bankruptcy and then all emplyee's lose their jobs.

I'm not unsympathetic to the employees but plenty would want AJ's head on a plate if QF wasn't controlling expenses.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

No point having Australian Spirit if you are unprofitable and then need to file for bankruptcy and then all emplyee's lose their jobs.

I'm sure that's an argument QF fans will want to roll out. Seems QF can do no wrong? QF is making plenty of money. Did they need to cut staff now?

 

[AustraliaPoochie]

Probably cheaper for QF but pity for QF Au maintenance staff.

 

[dajop]

Spirit of Australia huh?

That ship sailed a long long time ago ...... (or should the phrase be "that jumbo took off a long long time ago"??)

 

[Himeno]

Given that some of the 717's are as old as the 747's (which are currently being retired), ones got to wonder how much longer the 717's will be flying around Australia.

E170/190's or the A220 seems like the logical replacement but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long they hold off.

Given the current order book, publicly stated fleet plans and the age of the fleet, I could see Qantas ordering a mix of A220-100 and -300 to replace the Q-Link fleet and converting the remaining A380 orders/options to more A320 family and replacing the 737s with A320s. Then ordering more 787s and 777x's (a mix of -8 and -9s for both Project Sunrise ULR config and a more 'normal' LR config) and retiring the A330s and A380s. Leaving a fleet in 10-15 years of Airbus narrow bodies (A220/A320) and Boeing wide bodies (787/777).

Maybe a fleet of (Q-Link, Qantas and JQ)
80 A220 (Q-Link)
140 A320 (QF+JQ)
60 787 (QF+JQ)
25 777X (QF, 10-12 ULR config)

 

[Pleb Status]

Maybe they could offshore the CEO.

An easy $10M+ pa saving right there....

 

[moa999]

I'd add some 797s into that mix for domestic @Himeno. 787s aren't efficient on shorter routes.

But still not convinced on QF moving away from 737s

 

[Mattg]

Qantas invested quite a bit in setting up the CBR facility only a few years ago. Seems strange to close it now. I wonder if they'll still be doing Dash 8 maintenance at CBR going forward?

A friend of mine used to work there fixing 717s, looks like he got out at the right time!

 

[Pete98765432]

Qantas invested quite a bit in setting up the CBR facility only a few years ago. Seems strange to close it now. I wonder if they'll still be doing Dash 8 maintenance at CBR going forward?

A friend of mine used to work there fixing 717s, looks like he got out at the right time!

The facility isn’t being closed as day to day maintenance of the 717s will still be done there.

The airline's Canberra hangar, which opened in 2015, will still be used for day-to-day maintenance of the aircraft by about 25 Qantas staff.​

 

[Mattg]

The facility isn’t being closed as day to day maintenance of the 717s will still be done there.

The airline's Canberra hangar, which opened in 2015, will still be used for day-to-day maintenance of the aircraft by about 25 Qantas staff.​

Ah OK, I missed that. Thanks.

OK, so in that case it will be more or less back functioning as it did before it started doing the 717 heavy maintenance.

 

[Pete98765432]

Ah OK, I missed that. Thanks.

OK, so in that case it will be more or less back functioning as it did before it started doing the 717 heavy maintenance.

Guess so. Still it’s a shame. As an ACT resident I like to see our economy expand outside of the government sector.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

Qantas invested quite a bit in setting up the CBR facility only a few years ago. Seems strange to close it now. I wonder if they'll still be doing Dash 8 maintenance at CBR going forward?

A friend of mine used to work there fixing 717s, looks like he got out at the right time!

I guess it depends who your friend was working for. If they were employed by Core Aviation who currently do heavy maintenance then they'd be looking for a new job but if they were employed by Sigma they'd be okay as they do the line maintenance. I believe there's a couple of people in CBR actually employed by QLink.

 

[casanovawa]

Spirit of Australia huh?

Only when their is some corn-ball ad to make and they trundle out the kiddies to sing "Still call Australia Home" in local iconic spots... The rest of the time they barely manage to be anything other than the "Spirit of Sydney" with maybe a bit of Melbourne chucked in....

 

[casanovawa]

No point having Australian Spirit if you are unprofitable and then need to file for bankruptcy and then all emplyee's lose their jobs.

I'm not unsympathetic to the employees but plenty would want AJ's head on a plate if QF wasn't controlling expenses.

Yes those billion dollar profits no doubt have QF teetering on the precipice of financial ruin.... Wonder how much CEOs and Boards go for up in Asia??

 

[pauly7]

E170/190's or the A220 seems like the logical replacement but I guess we'll just have to wait and see how long they hold off.

After the disastrous ‘Embraer Experiment’ that their competition just bailed out of I’m sure there would need to be a very long hard look at what went wrong with those aircraft before QF tried them out.... it’s not clear whether it was operator or manufacturer... to me at least from the reading that I’ve seen.

AJ has said many times they’d snap up any extra 717’s they could get their hands on as they are working very well for what they need, in fact there is fierce global competition for them still. We also all know a well maintained older airframe is better than a poorly maintained new one, so as long as they are doing the job and running efficiently (comparative) then they will still ply our skies!

 

[Himeno]

AJ has said many times they’d snap up any extra 717’s they could get their hands on as they are working very well for what they need, in fact there is fierce global competition for them still. We also all know a well maintained older airframe is better than a poorly maintained new one, so as long as they are doing the job and running efficiently (comparative) then they will still ply our skies!

Problem is that DL is also grabbing every second hand narrow body aircraft it can get as well.

 

[ozbeachbabe]

AJ has said many times they’d snap up any extra 717’s they could get their hands on as they are working very well for what they need, in fact there is fierce global competition for them still. We also all know a well maintained older airframe is better than a poorly maintained new one, so as long as they are doing the job and running efficiently (comparative) then they will still ply our skies!

It's a shame Boeing didn't retain their manufacturing jigs that were used to produce the 717 fearing that it would have an adverse affect on 737 sales.