Qantas has reconvened meetings with union representatives for the first time since airline chief executive, Alan Joyce, announced that the entire fleet would be grounded because of the ongoing dispute with workers. Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association secretary, Steve Purvinas, said Qantas was trying to axe the jobs of more than 120 engineers whose task it was to ensure that aircraft were in and adequate condition to fly.

Mr Purvinas said that he was angry that Qantas kept telling engineers about airline safety, when it was clearly the workers’ job to make sure that ‘planes were operating properly. He added that he would find out if Qantas were serious about entering into negotiations with the union, or whether the airline would simply continue to stonewall. A second meeting has been… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on November 8th, 2011

Qantas has announced that it will be offering free tickets to passengers who experienced disruption after the airline’s entire fleet was grounded recently. Thousands of passengers were left stranded in cities around the globe when the flag carrier decided to cancel services in reaction to and ongoing battle with the unions.

The free ticket offer will apply to economy class return flights within New Zealand and Australia and will cost Qantas around $20 million. Alan Joyce, the carrier’s chief executive, said the free tickets were just one of the initiatives which will be introduced as a way of apologising to customers for the recent disruption. He added that more announcements would be made over the coming weeks.

Qantas planes took the air again after Fair Work Australia intervened and told… Read the full story

by Riley Walker on November 7th, 2011

Qantas boss Alan Joyce has defended plans to expand the airline into Asia and pursue global ambitions. The chief executive had been summoned to a meeting with lawmakers to discuss his decision to ground the carrier’s entire fleet last weekend, which resulted in thousands of passengers being left stranded. A private bill is now in front of parliament which, if passed, will mean Qantas jobs remain in Australia.

The airline has been suffering recently because unions representing workers have called a series of stoppages in protest of the possibility that jobs will be lost as they are moved overseas. Mr Joyce said if the bill was pushed through, then Qantas’ ability to expand internationally would be severely hampered. He said that it would effectively lock the company within Australia.

Qantas… Read the full story

by Cooper Anderson on November 4th, 2011

Commercial jets are returning to the skies above Libya as Alitalia becomes the first European carrier to resume services after the end of the conflict. The Italian airline suspended all flights to Libya eight months ago after the North African country became gripped by civil war and a full scale revolt against its leader, Moammar Gadhafi.

However, the fighting has now come to an end, and the late dictator overthrown by rebel forces. The Alitalia service departed from Fiumicino airport in Rome on Wednesday. It was carrying 100 passengers, mostly Libyan citizens excited by the chance to return home after a prolonged absence.

The plane was greeted in Tripoli by Goffredo Buccino. Italy’s newly appointed ambassador to Libya. A month ago, Alitalia felt it was in a position to reopen… Read the full story

by Isabella Robinson on November 3rd, 2011

The Asian airline market now has a new low-cost, long-haul airline, as Singapore Airways unveils Scoot. The carrier has been established for the purpose of tapping into the rapidly growing demand for budget flights across the region. Scoot is slated to begin carrying passenger on medium- and long-haul journeys at some point in the middle of next year.

As the economy in Asia sees incomes increase, so has the demand for airline seats. According to the International Air Transport Association, by the end of 2011, Asia Pacific air travel will have grown by 6.4 per cent.

Scoot is the latest addition to Singapore Airlines’ budget carrier portfolio. The airline already runs  SilkAir, which is a low-cost, short-haul operator, and is the predominant shareholder in Tiger Airways. In a statement, Singapore… Read the full story

by Lily Thompson on November 2nd, 2011

In an attempt to restore some confidence in the Qantas product with customers who have experienced weeks of disruption because of the airline’s ongoing fight with staff and the unions, ticket prices are reportedly going to be reduced. The dispute came to an end after Alan Joyce, Chief executive at Qantas, made the decision to ground the airline’s entire fleet at the weekend.

Australia’s labour tribunal then stepped in and ordered an immediate end to all industrial action affecting the carrier. Qantas aircraft began taking off again on Monday. As well as reducing the price of tickets, it is understood that the flag carrier will also be offering special promotions. There are also rumours that it intends to launch an advertising campaign which will be one of the largest in… Read the full story

by Mia Harris on November 1st, 2011

Government intervention in the fight between Qantas and its unions means that planes will begin taking off again layer today. Alan Joyce, the airlines chief executive grounded the main fleet on 29 October following weeks of industrial action which is estimated to have cost Qantas around $100 million.

Industrial-relations agency, Fair Work Australia, has issued a ruling preventing unions from calling any more strikes, and also preventing Qantas from undertaking a planned lockout. According to Anthony Albanese, the Transport Minister, flights will take to the air again at around 3pm.  The flag carrier has said that it will be calling in extra staff to help clear the backlog of stranded passengers.

Jetstar, the budget arm of Qantas, Qantaslink, the firm’s regional carrier, and flights to and from New Zealand were… Read the full story

by Riley Walker on October 31st, 2011

Qantas is claiming that the ongoing fight with its workers’ unions is costing the airline around $15 million every week. The carrier said it was seeing a trailing off of bookings heading into the festive season, as customers are wary of purchasing tickets for flights which might be delayed of cancelled because of industrial action.

Speaking at the annual shareholders meeting, Qantas boss Alan Joyce said that unrest caused by the unions representing the flag carrier’s baggage handlers, pilots and aircraft engineers, had so far cost nearly $70 million. He added that the uncertainty created by the situation was driving passengers away.

Mr Joyce accused the unions of trying to hold on to work practices which were out of date. The AGM was a noisy one, with company shareholders demanding… Read the full story

by Cooper Anderson on October 28th, 2011

Flight delays will continue to upset the travel plans for Qantas passengers as relations between ground staff and the airline continue to deteriorate. Catering workers, baggage handlers and other ground staff are due to hold meetings on Friday to discuss the situation. The meetings will take place at airports around the country and are scheduled to last for one hour.

Qantas claims that the action will affect 10,100 customers, and that it has been forced to delay 66 flights, some for over an hour. The airline said it was in the process of drawing up a revised schedule and contacting those passengers who will be affected. Lyell Strambi, group executive operations officer at Qantas, said the carrier had made a new offer to the Transport Workers Union, but that it… Read the full story

by Isabella Robinson on October 27th, 2011

September’s tables for airline punctuality have shown that last month Jetstar topped the list for domestic flight cancelations. Parent company Qantas took the honours for having the highest number of planes running late. However, the flag carrier has been contending with ongoing strikes by its workers. Although Jetstar is a subsidiary of Qantas, it has not really been affected by the industrial action.

A spokeswoman for the budget carrier said the cancellations last month were caused mainly by adverse weather conditions and technical issues. She pointed out that for the twelve months ending in June this year, Jetstar’s cancellation rate was 1.4 per cent, which was lower than any of the other major carriers.

Virgin Australia managed to record the highest number of on time departures at 86 per cent,… Read the full story

by Lily Thompson on October 26th, 2011