I wonder about some of those numbers and what they might include. Very possibly they are including the value all benefits and even then probably have skewed them higher than reality for the average line pilot.
Qantas, the corporation, is on a massive outsourcing program so the pilots have every right to be angry. It started with Jetstar; then Jetstar International; then Jetstar Asia; and now moving more and more flying offshore. All at the expense of Qantas mainline.
The basic fact of the matter though is that Qantas serves a very small market compared to other large international airlines. They are at the end of the line, so to speak, on the Kangaroo route. With only 22 million people as their passenger base in Oz and maybe another 4.5 million in NZ that just doesn't justify such a large airline.
They can't hub and spoke to grow international traffic because their cachement area includes such highly populated areas such as the Antarctic and New Caledonia.
The Australian government has been accommodating to other foreign airlines in order to boost international arrivals into the country. That has certainly hurt Qantas.
I think Qantas management have gone the wrong direction. Instead of diluting the brand so much, they should concentrate on the brand and it's value in the international market. Too late though, they've alienated the unions and employees so now we'll watch the long painful death of a once great airline.
Typhoonpilot
Last edited by Typhoonpilot; 10-13-2011 at 04:02 PM.