QANTAS Airways has made this announcement:

The first international tourists in almost two years arrived in Australia this morning, with flight QF12 from LAX landing in Sydney at 6:20 am.

QANTAS Airways has made this announcement:

Qantas has opened a new pilot training facility at Brisbane Airport, with the capacity to train up to 900 pilots a year.

Located adjacent to Brisbane Airport, the Qantas Group Flight Training Centre is home to four state-of-the-art aircraft simulators – Boeing 737, 767F and 787 Dreamliner and Dash-8 Q400 – as well as a Q400 flight training device, all used by pilots to complete their four annual sessions of simulator training and specialised training when moving to a new aircraft type.

The simulators were relocated from Sydney to make way for a major road project and were dismantled, transported by road and re-installed at the new Brisbane centre over a four month period.

With the majority of Qantas’ pilots based in the three eastern states, the Brisbane centre, along with expanded facilities in Melbourne and a new flight training centre to be developed in Sydney, will provide significant cost savings through training pilots at their home base.

The Brisbane facility will provide reoccurring training for the airline’s 500-plus Queensland-based pilots as well as pilots from other states and many of the new pilots who will join the Qantas Group in the years to come.

The facility also has a commercial dimension to it and will be open to other airlines in the Asia Pacific region to train newly recruited pilots, upskill pilots to new aircraft types and allow experienced pilots to maintain their ongoing training.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce, who was in Brisbane with Queensland Treasurer and Minister for Investment Cameron Dick to formally open the centre, said it would improve the efficiency of the airline’s flight training function and added to Qantas’ sizeable footprint in Queensland.

“Training is a critical part of our business and the new Brisbane Simulator Facility will play a key role in helping us to maintain the highest standards of pilot skill and experience.

“Qantas’ very first flying school was set up in 1927 in a tin shed at Eagle Farm, so we’ve clearly come a long way since then.

The training facility will be staffed by 33 team members including 18 new roles for highly skilled simulator instructors, simulator technicians and support staff.

Queensland Treasurer and Minster for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said: “The Q in Qantas proudly stands for Queensland, as it has for more than 100 years since the company was founded in Winton in 1920.

“The industry has been impacted severely over the last couple of years by COVID-19, but as we unite and recover, it’s technology and facilities like this which will play a critical role in our economic recovery.

“This suite of flight training simulators reinforces Queensland’s pre-eminence as a destination of choice for the aerospace and aviation support industries.”

Construction commenced in March 2021 and the four simulators and flight training device are now active 24 hour a day, with up to 50 pilots and trainers using the centre each day.

QANTAS Airways has made this announcement:

Qantas International has applied to the Fair Work Commission to terminate its Long Haul Cabin Crew agreement as a last resort to change restrictive and outdated rostering processes. There are no job losses associated with the proposed termination.

This is the first time in Qantas’ history that it has sought to terminate an enterprise agreement. It follows six months of negotiation with the Flight Attendants’ Association of Australia (FAAA) and other bargaining representatives for a new enterprise agreement that was rejected by both the union and 97 per cent of crew who voted.

The rejected four-year deal included a pay increase and increased allowances. It also sought to simplify complex and historical rostering conditions that meant around 20 per cent of more than 2,500 long haul crew could only be used on a single type of aircraft – which is unworkable as the airline seeks to recover from COVID.

The need for change to rostering processes was recognized by the Fair Work Commission in an earlier decision[1] relating to bargaining for the agreement.

The FAAA’s counter-offer represented a $60 million cost increase over four years – which is also unworkable.

CEO of Qantas International, Andrew David, said: “Asking to terminate the current agreement is the last thing we want, but we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Our best offer, which incorporated several union demands, was rejected by 97 per cent of crew who voted.

“We’re seeking termination because we can’t effectively run our business without the rostering changes we desperately need to properly restart our international network in a post-COVID world.

“The challenges facing airlines are pretty obvious and, even though we’re flying internationally again, it’s clear that we have to operate in a more agile and flexible way than we did pre-COVID in order to recover and match customer demand. The level of complexity we’re dealing with is huge.

“The FAAA ran a scare campaign against the new deal, claiming it would mean redundancies and offshoring despite the fact that we’re currently hiring new crew in Australia. The union’s default position is that the company can’t be trusted and should always give more. That’s simply wrong.

“Termination of the agreement would see crew revert to the modern award, which is the safety net for the industry, while a new agreement is negotiated. Given both the current agreement and the offer we put on the table have pay and conditions significantly higher than the modern award, we clearly don’t want to cut people’s pay. Unfortunately, the process doesn’t let us pick and choose which bits of the current agreement are terminated in order to get the crucial rostering flexibility we need.

“I know our people will be disappointed that it has come to this and so are we. We’re open to putting the same deal that was rejected back on the table, but that would require a change of heart from a union that has continually misrepresented the facts.

“We have sold land, mortgaged aircraft and raised money from shareholders to get through this pandemic. The government has provided hundreds of millions in direct funding to our employees while they were stood down. We don’t think the flexibility we’re asking from our international crew is unreasonable given the challenges we continue to face,” added Mr David.

The Fair Work Commission is expected to start dealing with the termination application over the coming weeks, with Qantas requesting the hearing be expedited.

Qantas’ international flying is expected to remain at around 20 per cent of pre-COVID levels for the next few months, increasing from April onwards as Omicron-related restrictions ease overseas.

This is the third time the FAAA and Qantas have been before the Commission regarding this round of bargaining.

BACKGROUND ON KEY ROSTERING CHANGE

• Airlines around the world are switching to far more dynamic schedules, where different aircraft types are used at short notice to deal with spikes in demand for passengers and freight. (For instance, shifting between an A330 and an A380.) This has been a key response to the instability of the past two years and likely represents a permanent shift for the industry.
• Under the current enterprise agreement, Qantas International crew are limited to working on Airbus A330s only, or on Airbus A380s and Boeing 787s only.
• The change Qantas seeks would enable all crew to be trained to work across all three wide-body aircraft types. In practical terms, this significantly broadens the different destinations crew can travel to and increases flexibility for both Qantas and its crew.
• An added complexity of the current agreement is that it has two different rostering systems, which Qantas wants to rationalize to one that already applies to 80 per cent of crew.
• Overall, these changes would give Qantas more flexibility in how it manages its international operations and competes with airlines that are already doing this.

BACKGROUND ON TERMINATING ENTERPRISE AGREEMENTS

Under Section 226 of the Fair Work Act, the Commission must terminate an expired agreement if it:

• is satisfied that it is not contrary to the public interest to do so, and
• the Commission considers that it is appropriate to terminate the agreement taking into account all the circumstances including:
  • the views of the employees, each employer, and each organization (if any), covered by the agreement, and
  • the circumstances of those employees, employers and organizations including the likely effect that the termination will have on each of them.

[1] As part of this decision, Fair Work Commissioner Ryan said, “I accept [Qantas’] evidence regarding Qantas’ position that it requires greater flexibility in [the proposed new agreement] to respond to the uncertainty of international travel”. The same decision found that Qantas had acted in accordance with good faith bargaining in its dealings with the FAAA and employees.

QANTAS Airways has made this announcement:

• Airbus A320neo and Airbus A220 families selected as preferred aircraft types.
• In-principle agreement for up to 134 orders and purchase right options over 10 plus years with deliveries from FY24 onwards.
• Combines with existing Jetstar order to give the Qantas Group significant flexibility on timing and aircraft type/size.
• Order is expected to be finalized by the end of FY22.

Qantas has selected the Airbus A320neo and Airbus A220 families as the preferred aircraft for the long-term renewal of its domestic narrow-body fleet.

A firm commitment for 40 aircraft – 20 A321XLR (extra long-range) and 20 A220 aircraft – is expected to be placed with Airbus by the end of FY22, following discussions with employees about arrangements to operate the new aircraft types and a final decision by the Qantas Board.

Qantas will also have a further 94 purchase right options[1] on aircraft over a 10-plus year delivery window as its existing Boeing 737-800s and 717s are gradually phased out.

The order is in addition to Jetstar’s existing agreement with Airbus for over 100 aircraft in the A320neo family. Part of this new deal includes combining these two orders so that the Group can draw down on a total of 299 deliveries across both the A320 and A220 families as needed over the next decade and beyond for Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar.

Once finalized, this will represent the largest aircraft order in Australian aviation history.

Financial details of the deal are commercial in confidence but represent a material discount from list prices.

Today’s announcement follows a detailed review by the airline’s engineering, flight operations, customer experience, network, fleet procurement and finance teams. The airline conducted detailed evaluation of the A320neo and B737 MAX families as well as the smaller A220 and Embraer E190/195-E2s.

SELECTED AIRCRAFT

The initial firm order concentrates on the larger, single-aisle A321XLR, and the mid-size A220-300 with purchase right options for the smaller A220-100, giving Qantas a fleet mix that can deliver better network choices and route economics.

The XLR can carry around 15 per cent more passengers on each flight than the airline’s existing B737-800s, making it well suited to busy routes between capital cities like Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. Its longer range means it can also be used to open up new city pairs.

The small and medium size A220s provide the Group with flexibility to deploy these aircraft throughout most of its domestic and regional operations. They could be used during off peak times between major cities and on key regional routes to increase frequency.

Both aircraft types will be powered by Pratt & Whitney GTF™ engines and will deliver fuel savings of between 15-20 per cent, contributing to the airline’s broader emission reduction efforts.

CEO COMMENTARY

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the airline had called the renewal of its domestic fleet Project Winton after the town where the national carrier was born 101 years ago, because it’s a key strategic decision for the future of Qantas Domestic.

“This is a long-term renewal plan with deliveries and payments spread over the next decade and beyond, but the similarly long lead time for aircraft orders means we need to make these decisions now.

“Qantas is in a position to make these commitments because of the way we’ve navigated through the pandemic, which is a credit to the whole organization.

“This is a clear sign of our confidence in the future and we’ve locked in pricing just ahead of what’s likely to be a big uptick in demand for next-generation narrow-body aircraft. That’s good news for our customers, our people and our shareholders.

“We’ll be having discussions with our people to ensure we have the arrangements necessary to support such a large investment.

“Can I thank Airbus, Boeing, Embraer and the engine manufacturers for the efforts they put into this process. This was a very tough choice to make. Each option delivered on our core requirements around safety, capability and emissions reductions. But when you multiply even small benefits in areas like range or cost across this many aircraft and over the 20 years they’ll be in the fleet, Airbus was the right choice as preferred tenderer.

“The Airbus deal had the added advantage of providing ongoing flexibility within the order, meaning we can continue to choose between the entire A320neo and A220 families depending on our changing needs in the years ahead. The ability to combine the Jetstar and Qantas order for the A320 type was also a factor.

“The A320 will be new for Qantas Domestic, but we already know it’s a great aircraft because it’s been the backbone of Jetstar’s success for more than 15 years and more recently operating the resources industry in Western Australia.

“The A220 is such a versatile aircraft which has become popular with airline customers in the United States and Europe because it has the capability to fly regional routes as well as longer sectors between capital cities.

“The combination of small, medium and large jets and the different range and economics they each bring means we can have the right aircraft on the right route.

“For customers, that means having more departures throughout the day on a smaller aircraft, or extra capacity at peak times with a larger aircraft. Or the ability to start a new regional route because the economics of the aircraft make it possible.

“We have some exciting plans for the next-generation cabins we’ll put on these aircraft, which will offer improvements for passengers that we’ll share in coming months.

“Importantly, these aircraft will deliver a step change in reducing fuel burn and carbon emissions compared with our current fleet, which gets us closer to the net zero target we’ve set,” added Mr Joyce.

AIRCRAFT SPECIFICATIONS

Note: Aircraft information has been sourced from manufacturers’ websites. Specifications are indicative only and not reflective of the specifications of any potential aircraft order by Qantas.

Airbus A320 family

• Includes the Airbus A320neo and A321neo
• A320neo seats – from 150 to 180 for a two-class configuration. 6,300km range
• A321neo seats – from 180 to 220 for a two-class configuration. 7,400km range
• A321XLR seats – from 180 to 220 for a two-class configuration. 8,700km range
• The A320neo family offers fuel improvements of 14 per cent from A320ceos
• 50 per cent quieter than the A320ceos
• Pratt & Whitney GTF™ (PW1100G-JM) engines

Airbus A220

• Specifically designed for the 100-150 seat market
• More than 20 per cent lower fuel burn per seat than B717s, half the noise footprint, and decreased emissions
• Up to 6,390km range
• Pratt & Whitney GTF™ (PW1500G) engines

[1] Purchase right options provide the Qantas Group with a firm price and preferred access to delivery slots with
flexibility to match deliveries to demand.