QANTAS

[ozbob]

All flights, domestic and international ceased.

Bring out the the heritage rail fleet!  

Brisbanetimes --> Qantas grounds all flights

Couriermail --> Julia Gillard will intervene in Qantas dispute Qantas grounds all flights

[ozbob]

Premier and Minister for Reconstruction
The Honourable Anna Bligh
29/10/2011

Premier calls for immediate end to Qantas stand-off

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh has called on Qantas to get back to the negotiating table with unions and end the stand-off immediately.

Ms Bligh said the extraordinary and unprecedented action taken by Qantas today would be devastating for Queensland

"It will cripple our Tourism industry, impact the thousands of fly-in fly-out workers that drive our mining industry and see the sectors of the Queensland economy that rely heavily on intra and inter-state air transport grind to a halt," Ms Bligh said.

"It will also leave thousands of Queenslanders travelling this weekend stranded.

"Qantas must end this now.

"And if the parties cannot, or will not, get back to the negotiating table I call on the Federal Government to bring the parties together."

The Premier said the impact on Queenslanders and the Queensland economy would be enormous.

The Queensland Government is urgently seeking legal advice as to whether the State could be party to action to bring the stand-off to a conclusion.

"All options are on the table, including joining in an application to Fair Work Australia, to bring this to a head," Ms Bligh said.

===============

[ozbob]

Bring it on!   

3830 steams through Douglas Park with the Southern Aurora set and 4490 on the rear.

[ozbob]

Twitter

612brisbane ABC Radio Brisbane
RT @PDScurrah: Working on adding more train services and capacity between Brisbane and Cairns to help with demand during the Qantas dispute.

===========

Bring out 1079 and the wooden carriages!    

[ozbob]

The federal government is finally going to act.  Bit late for the folks stranded everywhere.

It shows up the pitiful state of long distance passenger rail in the land of Oz though.  They will struggle to provide one extra train.

Actually using the standard gauge gear at Thirlmere could be achieved if they put their minds to it.  Carriages and locomotives are more than capable.

Southern Aurora at Campbelltown

4520, 4803, 4490 on SL68 special arrives and departs Campbelltown 9-6-08

[BrizCommuter]

When one airline can hold the country to ransom, its time for high speed rail!

[Arnz]

In the extreme case of Qantas going broke (not very likely), there's always Virgin and the smaller competitors such as Tiger to keep Virgin on their toes (I know, Tiger isn't the sharpest tool in the shed themselves).

[ozbob]

Twitter

QueenslandRail Queensland Rail
We are adding additional carriage on tomorrow's (Sunday) northbound Sunlander departing Brisbane at 9.00am #qantasgrounded
6 hours ago

================

Twiitter

QueenslandRail Queensland Rail
Adding an extra northbound service between Brisbane and Cairns, departing Brisbane on Monday at 1.25pm #qantasgrounded

================

Twitter

QueenslandRail Queensland Rail
Adding an extra southbound service between Townsville and Brisbane, departing Townsville at 4.35pm on Monday. Buses from CNS to TSV to meet.

================

QueenslandRail Queensland Rail
Over coming days we will be monitoring and adding more services if required. Will have more ppl in our call centre.
6 hours ago

================

Good effort Queensland Rail, this might actually be the turning point in re-establishing more comprehensive long haul rail passenger services, not only in Queensland but paricularly Brisbane - Sydney - Melbourne - Adelaide as well.

[ozbob]

Sent to all outlets:

30th October 2011

Airline issues and rail - now is the hour!

Greetings,

Queensland Rail has responded promptly and is organising extra passenger services between Brisbane and Cairns.  Well done!

It is time for all rail operators to step up to the plate and do likewise around the Nation.  Despite the shortages for rolling stock every effort should be made to provide citizens and tourists with reliable, safe, comfortable rail transport options.

The  are a number of long distance railway carriages that are used from time to time on specials.  These too could be brought back into service to assist under these desperate circumstances, for example the Southern Aurora train carriages.  ( http://railbotforum.org/mbs/index.php?topic=6951.msg72952#msg72952 ).

These events are a further warning that as a Nation we need to start re-establishing frequent and reliable long distance passenger rail services.

Best wishes
Robert

Robert Dow
Administration
admin@backontrack.org
RAIL Back On Track http://backontrack.org

[ozbob]

In the extreme case of Qantas going broke (not very likely), there's always Virgin and the smaller competitors such as Tiger to keep Virgin on their toes (I know, Tiger isn't the sharpest tool in the shed themselves).

QANTAS is in very serious trouble from here, and I am now of the view ultimately terminal as it is.  Many folks will simply not book with them again.  This leaves Virgin in what looks like a good business position for now.  Tiger need to visit the dentist.

[ozbob]

Herald Sun --> This could be the end of an airline

Herald Sun --> 68,000 travellers stranded

Brisbanetimes --> Qantas CEO has 'gone mad' say pilots

Brisbanetimes --> Airline that stops a nation

[ozbob]

CountryLink  http://www.countrylink.info/

Service status

In response to the grounding of the Qantas flights, CountryLink has added extra seat availability and extended our call centre hours from 05:00 to midnight until further notice.

For information on service changes, scheduled trackwork or unscheduled delays, visit the service status page. Please phone 13 22 32 for arrival and departure information about individual services.

[ozbob]

ABC News --> Irate passengers vow to abandon Qantas

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Virgin offers discounted fares for stranded Qantas passengers

[ozbob]

Premier and Minister for Reconstruction
The Honourable Anna Bligh
30/10/2011

Queensland joins Commonwealth to end Qantas stand-off

The Queensland Government will join the Commonwealth to intervene in the Qantas stand-off.

Queensland Premier Anna Bligh said Queensland would join the Federal Government's application to Fair Work Australia to terminate all industrial action by Qantas and it's employees.

"If this action continues, it will have a dire effect on Queenslanders and the Queensland economy," the Premier said.

"I'm not going to stand by and let that happen.

"It's time for all parties to take a step back and settle this immediately.

"The consequences of this dispute are far too damaging.

"The impact on Queenslanders and the Queensland economy, which relies heavily on air transport, will be immense.

"We are particularly concerned about the impact this will have, and has already had, on our tourism and mining sectors.

"It is now time for the independent umpire to take control," Ms Bligh said.

Meantime, the Premier said the Government was putting in place as many contingency plans as possible to help Queenslanders impacted by the grounding of Qantas flights.

"We will continue to provide as much support as possible however the longer the grounding of flights continue the more difficult it will become."

Queensland Rail is adding extra services and has extra staff to assist people who may be stranded.

They have organised additional capacity on their long distance services including:

+ An additional carriage on today's northbound Sunlander that departed Brisbane at 9.00am

+ An extra northbound service between Brisbane and Cairns, departing Brisbane on Monday at 1.25pm

+ An extra southbound service between Townsville and Brisbane, departing Townsville at 4.35pm on Monday. Buses will be arranged to connect customers from Cairns to this train.

This is in addition to their existing services, including three return Brisbane-Cairns Tilt Train services and three return Brisbane-Cairns Sunlander services operating next week.

Patients in need of urgent medical care will continue to be transported by services such as the Royal Flying Doctor Service. Some elective surgery may need to be rescheduled and patients should contact their hospital for advice.

Queensland Health is also arranging alternative transport for medical supplies where necessary.

The Premier said the longer the action continued the greater the impact on our vast State.

"The longer services are suspended, the more difficult it will become to move essential supplies and freight, and the greater the impact on Queenslanders and Queensland businesses," Ms Bligh said.

==============================================================

[ozbob]

Hey, I like this approach ...

===================

Twitter

QueenslandRail Queensland Rail
We will be helping Qantas customers with existing tickets: 25% off economy seats on Sunlander, and 20% off biz class Tilt for all this week.
23 minutes ago

[ozbob]

Twitter

QueenslandRail Queensland Rail
The discounted fares to cope with #qantasgrounded include tomorrow's additional services. Also, call 1800TRAINS re: discounts on sleepers
24 minutes ago

[ozbob]

Queensland Rail Diesel Electric locomotives 2199 & 1720 haul the Southbound Sunlander passing Eumundi station midday on a Friday.

[colinw]

My position on this is simple. Neither I, nor anyone who reports to me in my team, will be booking a QANTAS or Jetstar flight again until such time as Joyce is removed as CEO. Until then, it is Virgin on domestic routes and Singapore or Emirates for international.

One of my best friends is a Qantas 767 pilot. The stories he tells me about goings on within Qantas - which I shall not repeat in public forum - paint a very different picture of what is going on compared to the biased crap that is being reported, particularly in the Murdoch media.

Thumbs up to QueenslandRail for their prompt response.  I look forward to the day when we have an east coast high speed rail system.

[somebody]

My position on this is simple. Neither I, nor anyone who reports to me in my team, will be booking a QANTAS or Jetstar flight again until such time as Joyce is removed as CEO. Until then, it is Virgin on domestic routes and Singapore or Emirates for international.

Wow!

I can remember saying "short the stock" when QAN was over $5, but even I didn't expect things to get this bad.

[ozbob]

Mrs Ozbob has decided to no longer travel with SATNAQ, and has booked with another airline for an overseas trip in a month or so.  Daughters use VA for USA now, also have given SATNAQ the flick.

My first overseas flight with QANTAS was in 1969.  They seemed to get progressively worse over the years with the real rot manifest in the last 5 or so.

[colinw]

There's no point me ranting & raving at them. But given that I control a modest corporate travel budget and, thanks to a corporate policy change now have complete discretion as to which airline to fly, I can at least put my money where my mouth is and take the business elsewhere.

I too have noticed a considerable drop in standards, which first became noticeable while Dixon was CEO and has accelerated rapidly under Joyce.

Thanks to these shenanigans, our previous corporate policy, which was "Qantas first, then BA, then any other One World alliance airline" has been changed to "book whatever is most suitable". Speaking to my workmates the vast majority are now choosing Emirates & Singapore for their journeys to the UK & Europe.

[ozbob]

Couriermail --> Qantas confirms via Twitter that fleet will be grounded until at least midday on Monday

Brisbanetimes --> FWA orders Qantas dispute terminated

Herald Sun --> Qantas passengers find travel plans ruined

[ozbob]

From the Brisbanetimes click here!

Fair Work ends Qantas industrial dispute

Fair Work ends Qantas industrial dispute
Phillip Coorey and Matt O'Sullivan
October 31, 2011 - 5:13AM

QANTAS planes could be back flying tonight after the industrial relations umpire, Fair Work Australia, ruled at 2.08am today that the dispute between the airline and the unions should be terminated.

The decision, which came after a marathon Fair Work Australia hearing, will provide belated relief to thousands of stranded international and domestic passengers. It came just as a furious federal government was considering taking matters into its own hand by using special powers under the Fair Work Act to terminate the dispute itself.

The verdict gives the warring parties 21 days to resolve their dispute and reach an agreement that would be binding. If they fail to do so, there will be compulsory arbitration.

"This decision provides certainty for passengers," Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in statement.

"We will be getting our aircraft back up in the air as soon as we possibly can."

Before the hearing finished, Qantas signalled it would not be able to put flights on until at least midday today. It would make a decision about afternoon flights this morning.

Immediately after the verdict was handed down, Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten emerged from the hearing room to say he was pleased that "after 12 long hours, Fair Work Australia has upheld the application of the Gillard Government.

"We are very conscious that there are tens of thousands of travellers stranded throughout Australia and the rest of the world.

"The Australian economy has been put at risk of great damage, [notably] the mining and tourism sectors.

"Common sense has been restored. We trust that Qantas and the unions will get flying as soon as they can."

ACTU national secretary Jeff Lawrence said unions would work with the airline to get planes flying again as soon as possible.

"We will work with the company, all the unions and all the employees will do that, to make sure that the Australian travelling public is not inconvenienced for one minute longer than necessary," he said.

"It's unfortunate that it's taken the intervention of the federal government to force Qantas to negotiate about these issues about job security and to end the lockout."

Mr Lawrence insisted Mr Joyce had failed in his bid to lock out its workforce, ground the fleet and eliminate the unions' claims for job security.

"The decision of Fair Work Australia means he has failed, comprehensively failed," he said.

Transport Workers Union (TWU) national secretary Tony Sheldon said: "The real challenge here is that the Australian government fight really hard for Australian jobs.

"We'll negotiate ... but quite clearly the government has to stand up and defend Australian jobs."

Mr Sheldon predicted that Fair Work Australia's decision would be met with mixed emotions.

"The first reactions will be relief that this despicable act has been stopped by the company, but also grave concerns about their job security and their jobs being exported to Asia when this is supposed to be a company that is obliged by legislation to remain and operate in this country," he said.

"The government has stepped in, it's the first to my knowledge in the history of this country and of course it means that new laws, new approaches need to be instigated against this despicable company that will do anything to crush Australian jobs and send them overseas."

The Qantas share price was expected to be hit hard when markets opened this morning. The verdict may limit the damage.

The crisis may be resolved but has left in its wake bitter relations between Qantas and the government, which feels the airline over-reacted when it had less drastic options at its disposal.

The government was furious at the social dislocation, economic damage and political embarrassment caused by the wildcat action, which threw the lives of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos and shamed Australia when it was hosting 54 nations at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth.

Fair Work Australia began an emergency hearing on Saturday night after the government intervened under the Act and applied for the dispute to be terminated.

Mr Joyce, said he, too, wanted the dispute terminated. If Fair Work Australia had chosen instead to suspend the dispute, Mr Joyce said he would have kept the fleet grounded because a suspension would not have ended end the unrest and uncertainty.

Where a termination forces an end within 21 days, a suspension would have just delayed the dispute for 90 days, with no forced resolution.

The government's fury was stoked by revelations the wildcat action had been planned for some time. One document tabled to the hearing, which dealt with the safety aspects of the grounding, was dated October 20.

The Opposition leader, Tony Abbott, accused the government of causing unnecessary duress by not immediately invoking special powers under section 431 of the Act, which would have terminated the dispute immediately without involving Fair Work Australia.

Mr Joyce, said he believed the airline's relationship with the federal government would remain intact, despite the obvious strain.

"My priority is to do what is right for Qantas," he told the Herald yesterday.

"'The government and ourselves, and the opposition and ourselves, have a great working relationship. I believe that will continue – it is in everyone's interests."

Mr Joyce dismissed claims that Qantas had prepared for the grounding by booking hotels and seats on other airlines well in advance of Saturday.

He admitted that Qantas had "weeks of planning on a range of different scenarios" in the lead up to the grounding but said the board did not push the button until Saturday morning.

"We did not book hotels until the Saturday," he said. "We felt things were getting worse, not better, and the only alternative was to use the provisions of Fair Work Australia for us to take our own industrial action and that was to lock out the union members who were taking this action and force rapid negotiations."

Prior to the verdict, Mr Abbott said: "The government should terminate the bargaining period now. People are sitting in airport terminals because the Prime Minister has been sitting on her hands."

The Opposition leader, who is keen to avoid an internal political row over industrial relations policy, stressed there were sufficient powers under existing laws to end the dispute.

"This is not a policy problem, this is a competency problem on the part of the Government," he said. The dispute had "only got to this stage because of the Prime Minister".

Mr Joyce said he had talked to Qantas's largest shareholders after deciding to ground the fleet and they had been "very supportive of this".

"They felt that they didn't want us to die a death .. and we needed to get on and solve the issue," he said.

with Jessica Wright

Read more: http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/travel/fair-work-ends-qantas-industrial-dispute-20111031-1mqsq.html

[ozbob]

Chaser QANTAS Ad -->

Strangely prophetic ...

[ozbob]

From the Couriermail click here!

FWA decision won't work, says analyst

FWA decision won't work, says analyst

    From: AAP
    October 31, 2011 7:22AM

A FAIR Work Australia decision to terminate industrial action at Qantas will not resolve the bitter dispute, an aviation expert predicts.

All industrial action between the airline and unions was terminated by Fair Work Australia in a marathon hearing that ended early today.

The decision was "the most naive, unrealistic determination by an arbitration panel" aviation analyst Neil Hansford says he has seen in 60 years.

"This problem can't be solved in 21 days," he told ABC Radio today of the order for both parties to settle the dispute.

"Do you think they are going to achieve in 21 days what hasn't been achieved in 18 months?"

Mr Hansford said the Qantas business model was "broken" and it should have been reassessed 10 years ago, when long-time rival Ansett Airlines collapsed.

"Their international business is not sustainable, so obviously if their business is not sustainable, their levels of employment isn't sustainable."

[ozbob]

Premier and Minister for Reconstruction
The Honourable Anna Bligh
31/10/2011

Bligh: Qantas ruling shows importance of independent IR umpire

The Queensland Government has welcomed the order by Fair Work Australia for both sides in the Qantas dispute to terminate industrial action and negotiate.

"This dispute was threatening to devastate the Queensland tourism industry, the mining industry, and the state economy," Premier Anna Bligh said.

"We need Qantas back in the air and for industry and the travelling public to have certainty.

"This dispute has highlighted the importance of the independent IR umpire," she said.

Ms Bligh said there were risks that the LNP would follow the NSW Liberals' retrograde step of abolishing their independent IR umpire at a time when the Qantas dispute had proven the value of having an independent umpire in place.

"Queensland workers can't risk the possibility that Campbell Newman would abolish the QIRC and turn industrial relations into a big business dominated battlefield," Ms Bligh said.

"Workers should be in no doubt that their rights in the workplace are under very real threat from Campbell Newman.

"We know he supported Workchoices. What we don't know is if he supports Barry O'Farrell and the NSW Liberals' decision to do away with their state's independent IR commission.

"An independent umpire is crucial to resolving disputes, just like we've seen with QANTAS.

"If an LNP Government were to abolish the independent umpire, there'd be no-one around to step in and protect workers' rights.

"The abolition of the QIRC by an LNP Government would signal industrial chaos in Queensland."

=============

No one seem equally concerned when the  Sunshine Coast and others there were left marooned during the prolonged bus industrial issues ...  did they? 

[colinw]

Oh good grief! 

[Fares_Fair]

a classic case of the pot calling the kettle black ...

Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[BrizCommuter]

So how many km of High Speed Rail could have built with the amount of money the economy has lost due to the Qantas Crisis?
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2011/10/qantas-crisis-time-for-high-speed-rail.html

[ozbob]

Melbourne Age --> Qantas recriminations fly

[O_128]

So how many km of High Speed Rail could have built with the amount of money the economy has lost due to the Qantas Crisis?
http://brizcommuter.blogspot.com/2011/10/qantas-crisis-time-for-high-speed-rail.html

Had qantas gone I'm sure HSR would start within months 

[ButFli]

It's still Qantas all the way for me. They've always been the best airline in the world as far as I am concerned and this recent stunt has made me love them even more.

I was almost going to buy a ticket to Europe with them over the weekend as a show of support but I decided to hold off until the inevitable post-grounding sale comes around.

[Fares_Fair]

What the CEO did with regards to the QANTAS fleet and to the travelling public was utterly repugnant and he should be sacked. I know that there have been ongoing problems with a number of unions but his disproportionate response in grounding the entire airline was a reprehensible act. The government's failure to act in time should also be condemned.

Regards,
Fares_Fair

[Golliwog]

While I understand the blame being foisted on the CEO and management of Qantas, I can't see reason to accept the blame also being smeared onto the Feds. Sure, they only acted after the fact, but as the media has pointed out, the idea of Qantas holding a lock-out hadn't been even suggested previously, and the union action being undertaken was nothing that big so as suspect a lock-out would be the next port of call for management. The whole thing as well about the Gillard phone-call is also a bit of crap, was she supposed to drop everything with CHOGM to call this business man?

[somebody]

It's a federal failure, no doubt.

Section 431 can never be tried in less extreme times, so therefore if it can't be relied on when it hasn't been tested, it's at best a waste of space.  This wasn't the act of one rogue CEO, the board endorsed these actions.  Perhaps it was Joyce's idea, but the board could say no.  Presumably their legal advice was that it would be better to forment a crisis to require the govt to apply to FWA than have Qantas apply.  Of course, the Feds could have applied to FWA before the lock out.

[Fares_Fair]

It's a federal failure, no doubt.

Section 431 can never be tried in less extreme times, so therefore if it can't be relied on when it hasn't been tested, it's at best a waste of space.  This wasn't the act of one rogue CEO, the board endorsed these actions.  Perhaps it was Joyce's idea, but the board could say no.  Presumably their legal advice was that it would be better to forment a crisis to require the govt to apply to FWA than have Qantas apply.  Of course, the Feds could have applied to FWA before the lock out.

Which begs the question, why didn't they?
Instead, they chose to create a crisis of international proportions, and inconvenience (being very restrained with this word) approx. 80,000 according to one media report.

The decision was Joyce's as CEO and for this he should be sacked !


Regards,
Fares_Fair.

[somebody]

The decision was Joyce's as CEO and for this he should be sacked !

The board doesn't have a leg to stand on to sack him.  He consulted the board before making this decision.  There must be some reason why the full board would endorse such a decision, which probably they need to explain to their shareholders.

[somebody]

FF, you may be interested in this link: http://www.centreforaviation.com/analysis/alan-joyce-wins-gamble-on-qantas-grounding-but-now-awaits-markets-lasting-return-61767

And in particular:

It is apparent Qantas hoped for government intervention, which was not forthcoming as the government wanted to avoid the battlefront. While Qantas could apply for intervention from FWA, the industrial relations body is limited to making decisions in cases that have a profound affect on the country's economy. As the tribunal stated in its 31-Oct-2011 ruling, "It is unlikely that the protected industrial action taken by the three unions, even taken together, is threatening to cause significant damage to the tourism and air transport industries."

Epic Legislative Failure!

[ozbob]

Email to QANTAS Frequent Flyers received today, 2nd November 2011

==============

Now that Qantas has resumed normal operations I would like to update you on what the recent decision by Fair Work Australia means for you.

I apologise sincerely for any inconvenience that you or your family experienced during the grounding of the Qantas fleet between Saturday evening and Monday afternoon.

The decision to lock out some of our employees was an immensely difficult one and one that I did not want to have to make. But it was a decision that we were driven to by the industrial action of three unions, together representing less than 20 percent of Qantas employees.

As of last Friday, industrial action by those unions had forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, disrupted 70,000 passengers and cost Qantas $68 million. Two union leaders had warned that industrial action could continue into next year.

This would have had a devastating effect on our customers, on all Qantas employees and on the businesses which depend on Qantas services.

On Saturday, I came to the conclusion that this crisis had to end. I made the decision to proceed with a lock-out, the only form of protected industrial action available to Qantas under the Fair Work Act, so that agreement could be reached quickly.

Unfortunately, it was necessary as a precautionary measure to ground the fleet immediately after the announcement that a lock-out would take place. While I deeply regret the short-term impact of the fleet being grounded, following the Fair Work Australia decision we now have absolute certainty for our customers. No further industrial action can take place. No more aircraft will be grounded and no services cancelled as a result of industrial action.

You can now book Qantas flights with complete confidence. This is an immeasurably better situation than last Friday, when Qantas faced the prospect of ongoing disruptions, perhaps for another 12 months.

We have now moved into 21 days of negotiations with each of the unions with the assistance of Fair Work Australia. All parties will be treated equally in order to reach reasonable agreements. If this cannot happen, binding arbitration will take place to secure an outcome. We will respect whatever decisions are reached.

Regardless of how and when the agreements are reached, the period of uncertainty and instability for Qantas is over. We are moving forward and putting this dispute behind us.

Our focus now is on our customers. We want to restore your faith by returning our on-time performance to its normal high levels, continuing to invest in new aircraft and lounges and ensuring the best possible in-flight experience.

The end of industrial action means we can concentrate on what matters – getting you to your destination on time and in comfort, offering the best network and frequency of any Australian airline and rewarding your loyalty as a Qantas Frequent Flyer.

Thank you for your patience and for your continued support of Qantas.

Alan Joyce
CEO Qantas Airways