Qantas Shutdown

[Nigel C]

I thought this idea was still subject to regulatory approval. And where on domestic do you propose they load/unload the aircraft from?

[Steve S... 2]

It all boils down to natural human behaviour that every human being is born with to varying degrees = greed.

lol

[Dave Dale]

A bit of interesting reading regarding Virgin's plans over the week:

http://www.virginaustralia.com/About.../P_018955.html

[Danfeng Qian]

Maybe Virgin could check with Air China, as CA has one A330-200 grounded in Sydney for the whole day.

[Luke A]

The Qantas Unions are apparantly going to use this add as their new promo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEMFG37-a_s

[David Sims]

Such a sad couple of days for all concerned.
I would say that this is an end to Qantas as we have known it.

[Matt D]

Well done Alan Joyce. I'm pleased someone has stood up to the unions/associations and their 1980's thinking. If it takes stopping business to bring it to a head, so be it.

In a global market place global salaries and conditions apply. Australian transport unions needs to stop looking at the past and, like many other indistries have, wake up to the fact that the world has moved on and become international.

If costs are so high the company can't compete it will die a slow death.... and take every pilot and engineers job with it.

It's the board's job to make sure the CIO and his team is working in the best interests of the entire company and its future. (Despite what has been implied elsewhere in this thread, the board don't report to the CIO... the CIO is accountable to the Board). If the Board were concerned with the CIO#s course of action they would have acted. They haven't.

[Raymond Rowe]

And people here would not have the working conditions today if our grandfathers and fathers stood by the unions and got our conditions today that the current generation would not like to work under.It easy to see some people would work for next to nothing.The engineers spend many years studying and going thru many sleepless nights like the pilots do.So why should joyce get paid 5 million and everone else a few grains of rice like peoplke here would like to see.Hate to think what what sort of conditions some work under.

[Matt D]

At the Fair Work Australia tribunal tonight the preferred position of each party was asked. Question: termination or suspension?

Termination: Qantas, Federal, NSW, QLD, VIC governments
Suspension: Pilots, TWU, ACTU, Engineers

(information care of @leigh_howard twittering direct from the hearings)

[Craig Murray]

Originally Posted by Nigel C

From the outside looking in, and with no intimate detail of what's happened behind closed doors to get the situation to where it is now, I think both sides have probably handled things poorly and all sides will suffer as a result. They will only have themselves to blame.

Agree entirely, and things haven't been rosey for a very long time at Qantas so those that seek to blame Joyce, and Joyce alone, without reflecting on their own impact on the situation, are simply playing along with the spin.

Virgin Blue / Virgin Australia have been leading the way now for a good couple of years and it shows on the face of the staff you encounter during your "Virgin Experience". Being a life long QF flier/FF member/supporter/fan I have recently (prior to groundings) made two flights with their domestic competitor and have been stunned with the professionalism, attitude and demeanour of all staff I encountered....... but at Qantas, I had to use a machine to check in, check and tag my own bag and saw hardly a smile. But I digress from the issue at hand.

Qantas, from the top down....... in deep trouble.