Alan Joyce has brought forward his resignation to today.
2 Likes
My irks with this whole shenanigan is that if the government blocks the extra flights to ‘protect’ Australian interests and business (ala. Qantas) then they should set conditions for Qantas to be able to use those slots to actually expand and operate new flights to new destinations (e.g. Qantas should use those slots that Qatar wanted to operate new flights to Asia, Europe, Americas etc). A ‘Use it or Lose it’ kind of deal.
Instead, what the current decision does is protecting Qantas and their ever-conservative international expansion whilst Australian consumers lose out on increased competition that can lead to cheaper airfares. It only encourages mediocrity from the national carrier who we should be expecting better from.
2 Likes
Manison said two flights a week would be dropped from the Alice Springs route and a number of temporary changes introduced to facilitate the runway upgrade.
Manison said temporary schedule changes would impact flights between Alice Springs and Darwin while the Top End runway upgrades were completed.
“This is a six-week period. We’re going to see a reduction of the Darwin to Alice Springs services from 14 [flights] a week to nine,” she said.
“That’s when they’re doing some of the more challenging middle sections of the runway in Darwin.”
1 Like
QANTAS loses High Court appeal.
Qantas has lost its high court bid to overturn a ruling that it illegally outsourced 1,700 ground handler jobs.
On Wednesday the high court unanimously upheld a full federal court decision exposing the embattled airline to a mammoth compensation bill for laying off staff at 10 airports in November 2020.
1 Like
Qantas statement on this morning’s High Court decision
Qantas acknowledges and accepts the High Court’s decision to uphold two prior rulings by the Federal Court regarding the legality of outsourcing the remainder of the airline’s ground handling function in 2020.
The Federal Court originally found that while there were valid and lawful commercial reasons for the outsourcing, it could not rule out that Qantas also had an unlawful reason – namely, avoiding future industrial action. The High Court has now effectively upheld this interpretation.
The decision to outsource the remainder of the airline’s ground handling function was made in August 2020, when borders were closed, lockdowns were in place and no COVID vaccine existed. The likelihood of a years’ long crisis led Qantas to restructure its business to improve its ability to survive and ultimately recover.
As we have said from the beginning, we deeply regret the personal impact the outsourcing decision had on all those affected and we sincerely apologise for that.
A prior decision by the Federal Court has ruled out reinstatement of workers but it will now consider penalties for the breach and compensation for relevant employees* which will factor in redundancy payments already made by Qantas.
*Qantas made a provision against this potential liability following the original Federal Court decision in 2021.
1 Like
It should be billion dollar fines. They will be saving billions in costs over the medium term, I mean otherwise the board will likely still think it was worth it
Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says the government has “nothing to hide”, as a cabinet colleague knocks back a Senate request to provide documents about its decision on Qatar Airways’ flights.
A Senate select committee on commonwealth bilateral air service agreements is due to hold hearings next week, asking senior Qantas executives, as well as former CEO Alan Joyce, to appear.
The Senate has also requested the government to release documents relating to its decision to knock back Qatar Airways’ application for a doubling of flights.
The Senate inquiry will also look at federal government decisions on additional air services going back to 2016.
The inquiry will examine whether a lack of competition in the aviation sector is pushing up airfare prices and impacting on the tourism and hospitality sectors.
It is due to report by October 9.
A Senate select committee hearing into the federal government’s refusal to allow Qatar Airways to add more flights to Australia began today. Qantas and Qatar Airways will send their representatives to appear before the inquiry next week.
2 Likes
1 Like
Just booked a weekend away in Perth to see the WWE elimination Chamber event at Optus stadium.
Flying in Friday afternoon and home on Tuesday. I’d be interested if anyone had some fun things to to do other than the WWE, especially Saturday morning, Sunday and Monday.
2 Likes
If you want to do Cottesloe Beach, do it on the Monday when it’s likely to be less congested
1 Like
Fremantle and Rottnest Island are worth a visit.
I liked Fremantle,I remember going there on a train,had lunch,visited the maritime museum
2 Likes
1 Like