I’m proud to be a Qantas pilot – but it appears hell-bent on cutting costs and auctioning jobs to the lowest bidder

Qantas pilots are a passionate bunch. We are passionate about our airline. We are passionate about its history. And we are passionate about its legacy and the role we play in it.

We go to work every day with passenger safety foremost in our minds. It is our primary focus and the single issue that occupies our energy and passion. Safety before schedule is our mantra.

As we emerge from the pandemic, the operational challenges are significant. Many of the issues facing the industry have been well documented (and experienced by thousands of people), with long lines for security, delayed flights, mis-handled baggage and lack of catering now everyday occurrences.

Each of these issues can be part of a “normal” day for pilots, but as travel demand grows, our crews are now facing them on multiple fronts in a day, multiple days in a week, week after week. It is a unique challenge.

Despite these challenges and complexities, while on-time performance might be closer to 60%, our pilots ensure that 100% of flights arrive safely.

There’s no doubt that the airline’s safety record is underpinned by the skill, professionalism and experience of its pilots. But as we strive to hold together the operation in the face of these challenges, it’s frustrating and baffling to find our livelihoods continuously threatened by a relentlessly aggressive industrial strategy focused on profit.

Qantas pilots are no longer regarded as assets, instead we are viewed as “cost centres” – with various Qantas pilot cohorts pitted against each other in an industrial take on The Hunger Games.

In 2020, Qantas pilots were threatened that if they didn’t vote for the demanded working conditions for Project Sunrise (direct Australia-London and Australia-New York services), the flying would be outsourced to some other Qantas corporate entity with new pilots hired.

This year, domestic pilots faced losing their jobs when the airline threatened to hire more than 700 new pilots to fly new Airbus A321XLRs for Project Winton to replace Boeing 737s from 2024 unless it secured “efficiencies.” Qantas denies it ever considered outsourcing short-haul flying and said this was communicated to the pilots throughout the process. In June, a Qantas spokesperson said: “To be clear, we never said a no vote would mean this flying would be outsourced. Had either pilot group not been able to provide us with the working arrangements needed to get a return on our investment, another entity within the Qantas Group that was able to do this would have done the flying.”

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We want to work with Qantas to overcome the airline’s current challenges but our employer appears prepared to jeopardise pilot jobs to achieve “efficiencies”, threatening our livelihoods and careers. Careers borne of hard-won experience and dedication and expertise committed to keeping the Australian travelling public safe.

Qantas pilots love our airline and we love what it stands for. We are proud to be a part of the Spirit of Australia. Yet how Qantas treats its workforce when it comes to industrial relations is in marked contrast to the emotions of “I Still Call Australia Home”.

It should be of concern to the travelling public that instead of treating pilots as well-trained and capable assets to be valued, Qantas appears hell-bent on continuing to cut costs and seeking to auction pilot jobs off to the lowest bidder.

Tony Lucas is the president of the Australian and International Pilots Association and is a current Qantas check and training captain flying the Airbus A330