Tuesday, 16 August 2011

Qantas CEO proves he has no belief in the Qantas brand

The announcement by Alan Joyce that he will attempt to shift Qantas operations to Asia, and re-brand them as something new, proves that the Qantas CEO has no belief in the Qantas brand, according to the Australian and International Pilots Association. AIPA President Captain Barry Jackson, said todays announcement marked a sad day in the airlines proud 90 year history. Todays announcement proves we have a Qantas CEO with no belief in the iconic brand, Capt. Jackson said. The federal government needs to look very carefully at the implications of Alan Joyces announcement today for the Australian public. Strip away the spin and the eye-watering amount spent on advertising this morning and whats left is exactly what Qantas pilots have been warning of for months: a shift of Australian Qantas operations into Asia to start employing people working to Asian conditions and standards. The Qantas Sale Act was established when Qantas was privatised to prevent a CEO like Alan Joyce from doing something like this, because it is not in the interest of Australia or Australians. We have seen this management style of an Australian icon before, when Sol Trujillo took the reins at Telstra. It didnt work then and it wont work now. The key strength of the Qantas brand is the safety culture, training and experience of Australian-based Qantas pilots, any reduction in standards in these areas would prove fatal to the airline. After all, what is Qantas selling to Asia if not the world-leading reputation of its pilots and crew? AIPA will continue to insist on a Qantas flight / Qantas pilot clause in the new enterprise agreement, because we believe that when you board a Qantas flight, you are entitled to Qantas pilots on the flightdeck. Until we get an assurance from Alan Joyce that future Qantas flights will be operated by Qantas pilots instead of outsourced and offshored alternatives we will be doing everything we can to stop this destructive strategy for Qantass future. AIPA believes there are considerable doubts over the figures Mr Joyce quotes in order to justify his devastating plan for this Australian icon. Contact: Anil Lambert 0416 426 722
AUSTRALIAN AND INTERNATIONAL PILOTS ASSOCIATION Sydney: Suite 6.01, Level 6, 243-249 Coward Street, Mascot NSW 2020 Tel: 02 8307 7777 Fax: 02 8307 7799