Labor row halts Qantas intl flights, including Manila’s

Business Mirror
October 31, 2011


QANTAS has grounded indefinitely all its domestic and international flights, including its four weekly flights out of Manila to Sydney and Brisbane, following a long-running dispute with three different unions.

Qantas flies A330 airplanes from Manila every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday to Sydney and Brisbane.

In an advisory, Qantas advised its passengers to check the Travel Alerts page on qantas.com for the latest information.

According to aviation experts, Qantas’s shock decision to ground its fleet of planes is a “calculated gamble that risks trashing not only the ‘Flying Kangaroo’ brand but that of Australian tourism, generally.”

The decision dramatically escalated a months-long dispute with unions over pay and conditions, stranding some 70,000 travelers in airports around the globe and forcing government mediators to step in.

“The move, from an airline that has carefully cultivated a reputation for reliability and safety over the past 90 years, stunned everyone, including the government, rival airlines and the unions involved in the dispute,” the expert said.

But the hardest hit were the travelers who angrily lined up at airport terminals from London to Bangkok to condemn Qantas for abandoning them with no prior notice through the abrupt cancellation of more than 400 flights.

In Manila, protesting union workers of Philippine Airlines (PAL) who had earlier been laid off got the support of the Qantas labor union.

In its message of solidarity, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (Alaea), which represents Qantas engineers, declared: “All Alaea members stand shoulder-to-shoulder in solidarity with the PAL Employees Association [Palea] in their ongoing battle and will support them in their fight against unjust treatment.”

Alaea said it would support Palea efforts through the London-based International Transport Workers Federation for the “linking of all international affiliates” backing Palea members’ full reinstatement.

The Qantas web site said that since the grounding at 5 p.m. on Saturday, over 68,000 passengers have been affected, with 447 flights canceled.

Fair Work Australia has said it would reconvene at 2 p.m. on Sunday to consider the Federal Government’s application for termination or suspension of the industrial disputes between Qantas and the Alaea, the Transport Workers Union TWU and the Australian and International Pilots Union.

QantasLink flights continue to operate as normal, the airline said. These flights have flight codes of QF1400 to 2699.

Jetstar, the airline’s low-cost carrier, also continues to operate as normal, the airline said, admitting that capacity remains very limited.

“Jetstar is working to accommodate as many affected Qantas passengers on its services as possible. Unsold seats on Jetstar flights are being made available to Qantas passengers at discounted fares. These fares are only available at airports to passengers with valid Qantas itineraries, in order to prioritize passengers most in need—they are not available through call centers or web sites,” it said.

Jetconnect-operated Qantas flights over the Tasman are unaffected. Qantas has confirmed that all its trans-Tasman Jetconnect services will operate as normal on Sunday.

Express Freighters Australia and Atlas Freighters will also continue to operate.

“Customers booked on Qantas flights should not go to the airport until further notice. A full refund will be available to any customer who chooses to cancel their flight because it has been directly affected by the grounding of the fleet. Full rebooking flexibility will be available to customers who wish to defer their travel,” the airline said.

Assistance with accommodation and alternative flights, as well as other support, will be offered to customers who are mid-journey, the advisory said.

Qantas contact centers are currently experiencing a high volume of calls and customers may experience lengthy delays. Only customers with bookings for travel in the next 12 hours should call Qantas contact centers.

Qantas said it regrets that this action has become necessary and apologizes sincerely to all affected passengers, according to the airlines’ corporate communications department.