Qantas Grounds Entire Fleet In 'Unbelievable' Step

[webfact]

Qantas grounds entire fleet in 'unbelievable' step

SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australian flag carrier Qantas took the "unbelievable" step of grounding its entire domestic and international fleet indefinitely in an escalating industrial dispute.

The airline, which has been hit by a series of strikes, said all employees involved in the action would be locked out from Monday evening and flights grounded from 0600 GMT Saturday.

"Pilots, licensed engineers and baggage, ground and catering staff are essential to Qantas operations and the lock-out will therefore make it necessary for all Qantas aircraft to be grounded," the airline said on Saturday.

"Aircraft currently in the air will complete the sectors they are operating. However, there will be no further Qantas domestic departures or international departures anywhere in the world."

Months of strikes by baggage handlers, engineers and pilots were costing the company Aus$15 million (US$16 million) per week, it said, with the total financial impact so far hitting Aus$68 million.

Approximately 70,000 passengers had been affected ahead of the announcement and more than 600 flights cancelled.

The embattled company's shock decision to ground all aircraft will affect 108 planes at 22 airports, it said.

"The airline will be grounded as long as it takes to reach a conclusion on this," said chief executive Alan Joyce in a hastily called press conference, adding that he could not take "the easy way out" and agree to union demands.

"That would destroy Qantas in the long term," he said.

"I'm actually taking the bold decision, an unbelievable decision, a very hard decision, to ground this airline."

Unions have been protesting against pay and restructuring plans and the decision to ground the planes came a day after a fiery annual general meeting.

At the AGM, Qantas management came under fire for plans to refocus the airline on Asia which will see it launch two new airlines and axe 1,000 jobs.

Joyce was accused of running the carrier into the ground while reaping massive personal rewards.

Engineering union chief Steve Purvinas had warned that protests could stretch until mid-2012 while ground staff leader Tony Sheldon threatened crippling 48-hour strikes.

Joyce Saturday blasted the unions for running "utterly destructive industrial campaigns against Qantas and our customers, hurting all our employees and undermining Australian business".

"They are trashing our strategy and our brand," he said. "They are deliberately destabilising the company and there is no end in sight."

The airline will offer hotel accommodation and alternative flights to those who are mid-journey and can't get home because of the grounding.

And there will be refunds and ticket transfers available to passengers whose flights are cancelled.

"They (the union) talk about job security, but the unions are on a path that would diminish the job security of their own members," added Joyce.

"Customers are now fleeing from us."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has warned the parties to resolve the deadlock and said she was "maintaining regular briefings" about the issue but is yet to respond to the latest dramatic development.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-10-29

[cloudhopper]

Game on.

[Tywais]

Qantas grounds all flights

by: Steve Creedy, Aviation writer

From: The Australian

October 29, 2011 5:23PM

QANTAS has locked out international pilots, baggage handlers and engineers, essentially bringing its operations to a halt.

It has grounded all its entire domestic and international fleets indefinitely from 5pm AEDT.

The airline announced minutes ago it was locking out all members covered by the industrial agreements currently being negotiated with the Australian Licenced Engineers Union (ALAEA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian and International Pilots Union (AIPA).

It said the step was being taken under the provisions of the Fair Work Act in response to industrial action taken by the unions which has cost the airline $68 million so far and is costing it $15m a week and has seen its forward bookings nosedive.

The Australian

[Tywais]

Qantas grounds all flights

October 29, 2011 - 5:26PM

Qantas will lock out all its employees covered by the agreements that are currently in dispute.

And it has grounded its entire domestic and international fleets indefinitely.

‘‘We are locking out until the unions withdraw their extreme claim and reach agreement with us,’’ Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told a press conference today.

Advertisement: Story continues below

"This course of action has been forced upon us ... by the actions of three unions," Mr Joyce said.

"The ball is in their court.

"They have to decide how badly they want to hurt Qantas.

"We will provide full refunds to those who choose to cancel their flights."

Read more: SMH.com

[Tywais]

QANTAS has today grounded all its domestic and international flights.

The airline made the announcement at 5pm this evening.

In a shock move, Mr Joyce announced at a news conference just minutes ago that he planned to lock out all workers in dispute with Qantas from 8pm Monday night.

Because of the severity of the measure, the airline was grounding all flights immediately, he said.

Flights in the air would land at their destinations as normal but no other Qantas flight would take off until further notice, Mr Joyce said.

"The airline will be grounded as long as it takes to get a resolution on this.''

Mr Joyce said staff not in dispute with Qantas would not be locked out, but all those unions involved in the dispute would be locked out and would not be paid from 8pm Monday.

Daily Telegraph

[Tywais]

Qantas grounds all flights until unions drop action

Qantas is pre-emptively grounding its fleet.

In an extraordinary display of brinkmanship, Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has announced that all Qantas international and domestic services will cease immediately with the airline locking out all employees of the Australian Licenced Engineers Union (ALAEA), the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and the Australian and International Pilots Union (AIPA).

Joyce says the drastic move has been taken under the Fair Work Act in response to industrial action taken by the unions, and will likely cost the airline as much as $20 million per day until the disputes are resolved. The airline has so far lost $68 million due to disruptions caused by industrial action in recent months, and was losing an estimated $15 million per week. The airline says more than 600 flights had been cancelled and about 70,000 passengers had been affected.

In a hastily called media conference on October 29, Joyce said the airline would be grounded from 5.00pm on October 29, but that all employees are required at work as normal and will be paid until the lockout begins at 8.00pm eastern time on October 31. Once the lockout starts, those employees who are locked out will not be required at work and will not be paid. He said he had made the decision that morning, and had consulted the Qantas board before implementing the lockout.

Australian Aviation

[Tywais]

More updates on Qantas Facebook

[Svadhistana]

Nice move :jap:

[animatic]

A very expensive game of Chicken.

And not a small amount of Union breaking in play too.

Reminds me a bit of Reagan firing every single Aircraft Controller on strike in USA.

[zorro1]

Cant recall when , maybe in the 80's something similar happened and all the pilots were sacked and replaced, many ended there careers as taxi drivers

[Krungbin]

Cant recall when , maybe in the 80's something similar happened and all the pilots were sacked and replaced, many ended there careers as taxi drivers

You stole my words, and so did Animatic. And the move does not surprise me whatsoever. That's what I call having balls.

[whybother]

Cant recall when , maybe in the 80's something similar happened and all the pilots were sacked and replaced, many ended there careers as taxi drivers

1989.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Australian_pilots%27_dispute

[FarangBuddha]

This is what happens when you have a full-employment economy as is the case in AU at the moment...it goes to labour's head. Action such as this by management is needed to discipline labour and ensure that no wage-price spiral of inflation is unleashed in the economy.

[smedly]

very ballsy move, the bottom line is that employers should be allowed to run their business as they choose and provided this does not abuse empoyees while remaining competitive then thumbs up, I agree with unions but sometimes individuals lose sight of what they are all about, in this environment of turmoil throughout the world qantas employies should take a long hard look at what they have

[chooka]

A very expensive game of Chicken.

And not a small amount of Union breaking in play too.

Reminds me a bit of Reagan firing every single Aircraft Controller on strike in USA.

It's costing qantas 15mil AUD per day. The CEO and board members did just grant themselves huge pay increases also.

[mdechgan]

Thumbs up. Its time for companies to take a stand against unions.

It is unbelievable how unions threaten to strike whenever they want to negotiate higher wages.

Only wished the U.S. auto makers took this route instead of having billions of dollars bailing them out.

[Dibbler]

very ballsy move, the bottom line is that employers should be allowed to run their business as they choose and provided this does not abuse empoyees while remaining competitive then thumbs up, I agree with unions but sometimes individuals lose sight of what they are all about, in this environment of turmoil throughout the world qantas employies should take a long hard look at what they have

Agreed, sometimes individuals lose sight of themselves. A CEO paying himself a salary of AUD 5 million is a good example. That's 14 times what Australia PM earns, and a 71% increase in pay. He should take his own haircut.

[Tywais]

Qantas website with details for customers

[prefabs]

Quantas locking their employees out is similar to when they last went on strike?

How would one notice any difference from normal? They (Management and employees) both need hard kicks in the arse

[KKvampire]

The Unions can try and destroy the Australian National Airline , just as British Airways staff tried 2 years ago or come to an agreement, Random Strikes suit them , still getting income , but Qantas can have the last word. Either a Job or No Job

[doggie888888]

A very expensive game of Chicken.

And not a small amount of Union breaking in play too.

Reminds me a bit of Reagan firing every single Aircraft Controller on strike in USA.

It's costing qantas 15mil AUD per day. The CEO and board members did just grant themselves huge pay increases also.

Ultimately, it was approved by shareholders at AGM...the institutional investors out voted everyone else. I think the union may want to publicise who these institutional invvestors are.

[jackdawson]

That's no way to run a railroad.

[softgeorge]

very ballsy move, the bottom line is that employers should be allowed to run their business as they choose and provided this does not abuse empoyees while remaining competitive then thumbs up, I agree with unions but sometimes individuals lose sight of what they are all about, in this environment of turmoil throughout the world qantas employies should take a long hard look at what they have

Agreed, sometimes individuals lose sight of themselves. A CEO paying himself a salary of AUD 5 million is a good example. That's 14 times what Australia PM earns, and a 71% increase in pay. He should take his own haircut.

Joyce the CEO of qantas just recieved a 3 mil pay rise which is ludicrous. I never fly Qantas anyway as it is the most expensive and has the worst service of any airline. Grumpy old stewards who are rude. Thai airways has a flight out of Melbourne tonight to BKK with 228 empty seats and has offered to carry Qantas passengers to BKK where they can organise connecting flights from there.

[KKvampire]

"I believe licenced engineers were only trying to secure a 80 cent per hr pay increase"

Of course they can go and work the budget airlines

[ozsamurai]

Good on you Joyce, finally someone with a pair, maybe he should have borrowed Gillard's a few months back and saved himself a few 100 million

Oz

[smokie36]

Yes its a great move by the CEO...alienate your customers and antagonise the workforce still further. Brilliant.

No doubt anyone who has a flight with Qantas or its codeshare partners will be leaping for joy over this move. Mind you those partners are just as cavalier about passengers needs.

[damo]

I believe thier request for a pay increase was in line with inflation and just. Too many companies like quantas are willing to milk Australians for overpriced airfares whilst at the same time seeking bottom dollar labour. Mr Joyce seems to operate like a whore monger in Pattaya. Joyce's ridicolous payrise is a drop in the ocean compared to the mounting losses. Wait till shareholders start dumping shares, it will be over in a flash.

[saintofsilence]

Well done Alan Joyce now make them back off and shut up bunch of troublemakers

[softgeorge]

Yes its a great move by the CEO...alienate your customers and antagonise the workforce still further. Brilliant.

No doubt anyone who has a flight with Qantas or its codeshare partners will be leaping for joy over this move. Mind you those partners are just as cavalier about passengers needs.

You have thousands of passengers stranded around the world because of this stupid move. Given Qanta's record over the last 2 yrs with engines exploding and pieces falling of the planes and now this it will definately deter future customers from flying with them. I would predict that in 5 yrs Qantas will be no longer around. You can fly with Thai Airways on the same routes for a 3rd of the price and 100% better service. The cost of1st class with thai will get you cattle class on Qantas.

[saintofsilence]

Yes its a great move by the CEO...alienate your customers and antagonise the workforce still further. Brilliant.

No doubt anyone who has a flight with Qantas or its codeshare partners will be leaping for joy over this move. Mind you those partners are just as cavalier about passengers needs.

You have thousands of passengers stranded around the world because of this stupid move. Given Qanta's record over the last 2 yrs with engines exploding and pieces falling of the planes and now this it will definately deter future customers from flying with them. I would predict that in 5 yrs Qantas will be no longer around. You can fly with Thai Airways on the same routes for a 3rd of the price and 100% better service. The cost of1st class with thai will get you cattle class on Qantas.

Your running them down for calling this action yet in the same sentence your saying there prices are to high.

Don't you understand they are taking this action to remain competitive?