Qantas preparing to shift maintenance jobs offshore
A weekend report in The Herald Sun says that Qantas may be preparing to shift key parts of its maintenance operations to Asia, even before the proposed $11 billion takeover by Airline Partners Australia goes through.
A submission by the Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association to a Senate committee examining the proposed takeover warns that Qantas is already considering a maintenance shift offshore, with Association’s members responsible for maintaining Qantas’ unrivalled safety record, alerting the Committee to recent internal Qantas ads offering relocation and jobs in Asia.
“We consider that the likelihood of Qantas accepting this option (regarding offshore maintenance) is high,” the submission states, adding, “Today information was received………that Qantas has started advertising internally for engineers and aircraft planners (who plan aircraft maintenance work) to move to Asia.”
“The advert includes, “The Qantas Group is expanding and exploring new growth options and this means an exciting opportunity for staff to work for us in Asia!”
With air safety highlighted by last week’s Indonesian plane tragedy, and the engineers’ Association warning that moving maintenance operations offshore risks “compromising the safety of the Qantas fleet”, Family First senator Steve Fielding said he was still determined to push for changes to the Qantas Sale Act, to keep Qantas Australian.
He says the Act does not include Jetstar, and wants the Senate committee to examine the sale and the proposed new owners’ assurances.
Last week Treasurer Peter Costello said a special legal deal had been agreed between the Government and the Macquarie Bank takeover consortium to guard against key parts of the airline being sold off.
Qantas was unavailable for comment to The Herald Sun last night.
A report by The Mole from The Herald Sun
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Strike action set to cause travel chaos at Brussels airports
Digital Travel Reporter of the Mirror totally seduced by HotelPlanner AI Travel Agent