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Will T
18th July 2008, 10:33 AM
QANTAS ANNOUNCES JOB AND CAPACITY CUTS

SYDNEY, 18 July 2008: The Qantas Group said today it would cut 1,500 jobs worldwide in response to the sustained high oil prices and changing economic conditions.

The Chief Executive Officer of Qantas Airways Limited, Mr Geoff Dixon, said that in addition to the job cuts, Qantas would not implement its budgeted growth in flying in the 2008/09 financial year and would cancel plans to hire a further 1,200 people for that growth.

Mr Dixon said every effort would be made to achieve the job cuts through voluntary redundancy, early retirements, leave without pay, an accelerated leave program and converting positions from full-time to part-time.

“However, some compulsory redundancies will be necessary, which we regret.

“The jobs to be cut will be principally concentrated in non-operational areas, although operational positions will also go.”

“Over 20 per cent of our management and head office support jobs will be cut,” he said.

“The redundancy program will be completed by December.”

Mr Dixon said the aviation industry was facing a major crisis throughout the world and Qantas needed to act decisively to ensure its future.

“Acting now, on top of the measures already taken, will protect our competitive position, protect the great majority of over 36,000 jobs and enable us to grow profitably when conditions improve.

Mr Dixon said as a result of today’s decision, the Qantas group would:


maintain a recruitment and executive pay freeze for the foreseeable future

maintain a recruitment and executive pay freeze for the foreseeable future;

reduce forecast capacity growth in 2008/09 from eight per cent to nil growth;

retire up to 22 older aircraft from its fleet of 228 (including announcements previously made);

close its long-running call centres in Tucson, Arizona and London at a cost of 99 jobs, and concentrate all its call centre activity in Australia and New Zealand;

suspend Jetstar’s recruitment program until the end of the year, including its recruitment of pilots under the 457 visa program; and

close Jetstar’s cabin crew and pilot base in Adelaide by the end of August, with Jetstar’s 37 return weekly Adelaide flights to remain and be serviced by aircraft and staff based in Darwin and Sydney.


Mr Dixon said Qantas would also:

proceed with its major fleet re-equipment program of new and more fuel efficient aircraftsuch as the A380 and B787; and

proceed with its customer-focused product and service initiatives such as domestic Business class lounges, terminal facilities and opening the new Qantas Customer Service Centre of Excellence.

He said Qantas was very conscious of the important role it played in business and tourism throughout metropolitan and regional Australia.

“This was uppermost in our mind when reviewing all aspects of our operations in recent weeks and, as a result, the latest schedule changes mostly involve a reduction of capacity on some routes and not the wholesale elimination of routes.

“Also we need to keep developing new opportunities and we will, for example, proceed with opening up already announced new direct services between Sydney and Buenos Aires in November.”

Mr Dixon said Qantas had successfully responded, with the valuable support of its people and its customers, to many crises since privatisation in 1995.

“We are confident of doing the same again, particularly now that we have reached an in principle agreement with the union representing our engineers, the ALAEA. This should mean a quick cessation to the difficulties our customers have experienced over the past ten weeks.”

Mr Dixon said the agreement, and the one reached on Wednesday with AIPA, the union representing 1,800 pilots, provided greater flexibility for Qantas and its pilots and its engineers, certainty at a volatile and difficult time and maintenance of a sustainable wages policy.

http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20080718/pdf/31b76brqsyqlrp.pdf

Lukas M
18th July 2008, 10:46 AM
That is not good news for JQ crew in ADL

Steve Jones
18th July 2008, 11:43 AM
What routes are seeing capacity cuts? Any details provided?

Brenden S
18th July 2008, 03:58 PM
Its interesting at what they are doing esp taking people out of ops area's when they can't even depart the flights on time (not due to the engineers either)

Matthew Green
18th July 2008, 04:57 PM
Any details on what aircraft will be retired? apart from the previously annouced 743's?

Matthew

Andrew McLaughlin
18th July 2008, 05:28 PM
Any details on what aircraft will be retired? apart from the previously annouced 743's?

Matthew

Dash 8-100s & -200s, 737-400s and a few of the older RR-powered 767s and 747-400s.

Chris W
19th July 2008, 12:31 AM
Nil growth in 2008/09...wow!

D Chan
19th July 2008, 02:22 AM
Its interesting at what they are doing esp taking people out of ops area's when they can't even depart the flights on time (not due to the engineers either)

well as you are perfectly aware there are indeed a lot of non-mechanical / technical reasons of why flights don't depart on time, so I think the effect of reducing staff in ops areas should be minimal?

let's see if in one year's time the oil price will be as high as current levels. But that stage though I think a dozen or so carriers around the world wouldve gone broke.

Anthony J
19th July 2008, 08:40 AM
RR-powered 767s
Really? We're hearing the reverse although there is constantly a ZX bus in maintenance being Christmas treed at the moment. OGA-C came close to going but that seems to have been reversed as well.

Nigel C
19th July 2008, 09:05 AM
I understand the Wollongong to Melbourne service has been axed.

Lukas M
19th July 2008, 09:45 AM
AVV-ADL-AVV axed

Now becomes MEL-ADL-MEL, It will now operate from Tullamarine at 6.40am to Adelaide, returning at 2.55pm.

Max C
19th July 2008, 10:20 AM
I understand the Wollongong to Melbourne service has been axed.

G'day Nigel,
That was a previous route cut announced by Qantaslink and the final MEL-WOL-MEL service was last night.

Nigel C
19th July 2008, 12:05 PM
Well there you go! It was my next door neighbour who told me about it last night as the last one came in.

Cheers

Justin L
19th July 2008, 01:58 PM
AVV-ADL-AVV axed

Now becomes MEL-ADL-MEL, It will now operate from Tullamarine at 6.40am to Adelaide, returning at 2.55pm.

Wow that's interesting. Would that be to compete more directly with Tiger on the ADL-MEL route since it will become thrice daily?

Lukas M
19th July 2008, 02:24 PM
Wow that's interesting. Would that be to compete more directly with Tiger on the ADL-MEL route since it will become thrice daily?
Well, as the AVV-ADL was operated by the A320 based in Adelaide, and Adelaide crew of course, so mabye it was too difficult to justify operating this route without them now. I would also say that it would be to compete with Tiger also, seeing 3 daily is starting to become a threat to QF/DJ. I know numerous people in Adelaide that flew QF to Melbourne frequently, and have just flown TT since they have operated from Adelaide

Paul Green
19th July 2008, 03:31 PM
Really? We're hearing the reverse although there is constantly a ZX bus in maintenance being Christmas treed at the moment. OGA-C came close to going but that seems to have been reversed as well.

Really? Which ZX 'bus' is being Cristmas treed?

Ash W
19th July 2008, 04:49 PM
Really? Which ZX 'bus' is being Cristmas treed?

For those of us that don't know but what is being Christmas Treed? A

Get slightly off topic, but what state are the 7 -ZX's in? Flown a few BA examples over the past few weeks and all were in a very tired and sad state indeed. 2 of them (different A/C) had a fault where the call bell would beep every second, in the end they had to turn all seat power on, so no audio, reading lights or call bell. The CSO who happend to be on both flights reckons it happens to her at least once a week on a BA 767.

Montague S
23rd July 2008, 10:43 AM
here comes the interesting part, oil has retreated nearly $20 in the past few days and is currently trading at $128 p/bl, I suspect that jetfuel will also retreat from its $178 p/bl price tag in the near future, when it does occur it'll be interesting to see how the airlines pass this on to the customers & their staff...will it lead to lower fares and removal of ex % of the fuel fees? I suspect it won't because its a money spinner for them.

interesting times...I predicted a while back that the price will drop dramatically before the year end (not that I want it to) but it will be itneresting to see if the consumer benefits too.

Geoff Dixon has become a bit of a speculator... ;)

Marty H
23rd July 2008, 10:54 AM
here comes the interesting part, oil has retreated nearly $20 in the past few days and is currently trading at $128 p/bl, I suspect that jetfuel will also retreat from its $178 p/bl price tag in the near future, when it does occur it'll be interesting to see how the airlines pass this on to the customers & their staff...will it lead to lower fares and removal of ex % of the fuel fees? I suspect it won't because its a money spinner for them.

interesting times...I predicted a while back that the price will drop dramatically before the year end (not that I want it to) but it will be itneresting to see if the consumer benefits too.

Geoff Dixon has become a bit of a speculator... ;)

They all have Monty, all airlines have '**** bricks' over the past month or so over fuel prices, it is fair they needed to take precautions incase it does stay high, but QF and DJ both have hedged their fuel until at least the middle of next year at around $109 USD per barrel.

If it continues to drop does DJ decided to can their new baggage charges???

Rhys Xanthis
23rd July 2008, 06:18 PM
Does DJ even do any sort of fuel hedging worth mentioning? I thought they hedged very very little?

Michael Morrison
23rd July 2008, 07:15 PM
Does DJ even do any sort of fuel hedging worth mentioning? I thought they hedged very very little?

They have about 60% hedged for the next year with the next 6 monthsd actually hedged at about 80% dropping to around 40% from JAN.... (or something very similar as per a gidfrey interview)

Marty H
23rd July 2008, 07:16 PM
Does DJ even do any sort of fuel hedging worth mentioning? I thought they hedged very very little?

They do Ive been told its around $109 per barrel until the middle of 2009.