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1. US, Australia sign key aviation biofuels accord
In San Francisco, the U.S. FAA and Australia’s Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism have reached a Memorandum of Understanding to continue research and development of clean, sustainable alternative aviation fuels.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Australian Ambassador to the United States Kim Beazley signed the agreement at the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Transport & Energy Ministers Ministerial Conference Summit meetings in San Francisco.
The MOU calls for Australia and the United States to exchange information about policies, programs, projects, research results, and publications, and to conduct joint studies in areas such as fuel sources and environmental impacts. The memorandum also facilitates analysis of fuel source supply chains. The signing nations agree to cover the associated costs.
“Air travel is global and we need international partners to develop these innovative new fuels,” Secretary LaHood told reporters. “Our ultimate goal is to work with all of the Asia Pacific nations to achieve a sustainable, independent energy future for aviation, and this is an exciting first step.” The MOU enables Australia and the United States to exchange information on policies, programs, projects, and research results, and to conduct joint studies in areas such investigation of new fuel sources and conducting environmental impacts.
Aspects of significance
“From the government perspective, and what we choose as a framework for APEC,” CAAFI Executive Director Rick Altman said, “this agreement is fairly unique, in that you have the agreement being developed out of the private sector, and then they have brought this to the government to recognize and support – as opposed to the government developing this, and saying “here” to the private sector.”
Three aspects of the agreement should draw special attention from followers of bioenergy’s story arc.
1. Unlike other government to government agreements that emerge from time to time, this agreement sprung out of the private sector, primarily driven by the CAAFI private-public partnership in the US , and Austrade and the US Studies Center at the University of Sydney, for Australia.
2. This agreement is “operational” not “aspirational” which makes it unique among other cross border activities in which the CAAFI coalition has been engaged in that their are discreet specifics that fill gaps in the overall global aviation biofuels efforts to which we can both make contributions.
3. This MOU can realistically form a template for efforts for in the Asia Pacific region as a whole, and other regions.
The origins of the agreement
Dr. Susan Pond of the US Studies Center recalls: “Rich Altman and I met in October last year through Austrade in DC, and at that time we hatched the idea of a forum at the Avalon Air Show, where we held seminars every day (before the jets drowned us out). In Australia, we saw a real appetite for connection internationally and particularly with US for aviation, and in fact a group had formed earlier under SAFUG (Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group) to start working on roadmap, with Boeing, Qantas, Virgin, GE and CSIRO involved, and in particular getting catalysis and knowledge from boeing.
“After Avalon, we had the idea of an MOU or an agreement between the US and Australia, which I presented to the Australian government in Canberra including people at the Ministry of Resources Energy & Tourism and Ministry of Transport. CAAFI, myself, FAA and Austrade had a meeting towards a more formal agreement at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in DC earlier this year, and as another part of the process we went to a prep meeting for APEC and put it on the APEC agreement agenda, and it was signed of the margins of the APEC meeting.”
CAAFI’s Rich Altman added: “There were discussions that predated this process, such as discussions between the Volpe Center and CSIRO. But we quickly identified areas to work together – road-mapping, scenario planning, and matching up feedstock with fuel suppliers. At the next CAAFI meeting in November we will put even more meat on the work plan.”
The key elements
Key elements in work plan for now include: scenario analysis, feedstock readiness, sustainability, data sharing, fuels certification, plus development on a variety of alternative fuel pathways, including fuels out of synthetic biology processing, alcohol to jet fuels, and fuels made from pyrolytic processes.
One of the areas of greatest concern and focus is feedstock readiness – there being around the world a sense that the aviation community has been able to advance on fuels testing and certification fare faster than the feedstock community has been able to ramp op on scale.
Feedstocks of interest
In the agreement, there is a focus on US technologies and Australian feedstocks. Besides the well-known focus on development of algal fuels in Australia, “the main feedstocks of interest are sugar,” observed Dr. Pond, “there’s a lot of bagasse that can be diverted. Also, oilseed crops, some of which are already grown, like mustard seed – as a break crop for soil as well as the oil benefit. Lignocellulosic crops are not used on an aggregated basis at this time, except for power. But that’s where CSIRO is especially good – they have done the mapping and aggregation to prepare for that sector.”
The Global Template
There’s an interest in duplicating this type of agreement,” said CAAFI’s Altman. “It was brought up in Sept meeting, and we could be working as early as March on something. As far as where this model would work, follow the feedstocks. There are feedstock rich regions throughout Southeast Asia that fits the bill. Plus there are countries with a strong aviation industry component, for example, there may be interest in Japan, given the fact that the aircraft and engine partnerships are already in place there. Plus there are countries like Singapore, where you have the refining capacity. In that case, there’s been activity between FAA and Singapore, which has a strong aviation community and is surrounded by the feedstocks in the neighboring countries.”
The governmental role
“The government will have a very important educative role,” remarked Dr. Pond. “AUstralia is just now finalizing its alternative fuels strategy, but in general we know that agricultural subsidies, for example, are much greater in the US than in Australia and the industry will need to be pulled rather than pushed. So, education of the constituencies, such as farmers, will not work the same.”
Policy Stability
“Market forces are driving this sector,” said Altman, “and there are strong forces that will sustain this. For example, as prominent as aviation has become within the biofuels community, aviation consumes twice as much fuel relative to road transport in Australia than here. Plus, the depletion of oil refining capacity is much greater in Australia than here. And, its much easier to align the players – for example, it is very difficult to align commercial and military people in the EU, for historical reasons, but it is not an issue in Australia.
“I don’t see that the MOU would be cancelled” added Dr. Pond, “if there was a change in government. The carbon tax which is coming in will be so difficult to unwind if it is finally passed towards the end of the year, and the private aviation sector isn’t going to change. So the meta-policy environment is going to have a great deal driving it.”
“CAAFI started under the Bush Administration,” noted Altman, “and then continued and accelerated under the Obama administration. Usually, a new government comes in and looks for good ideas and seeks to embrace them. And we see that at the state level, too. Those states that are changing policy, are still looking to embrace initiatives like this. All governments want to be successful, and I suspect that applies to governments here or there.”
2. Australian pilot trainees wooed to NZ
CTC Aviation Training (NZ) Limited, a world-leading airline pilot training provider with a base in Hamilton, is wooing Australian trainees across the Tasman through a nationwide, Australian recruitment drive starting this month.
The company provides pilot graduates to Jetstar Australia, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and a large number of European airlines.
CTC Aviation Training CEO, Ian Calvert, says in addition to continuing to recruit New Zealanders, the company is now actively recruiting pilots in Australia for the first time, due to increased airline demand.
"CTC is currently supplying pilots to Jetstar Australia, who require a number of pilots in the next 12 months. Plus, Jetstar Asia in Singapore has asked for 15 pilots in training by 31 March 2012.
"Additionally, CTC is in negotiations with major airlines in Asia, the Middle East and Europe who are all signalling a huge demand for pilots in both the short- and long-term. We currently train around 180 airline pilots in New Zealand each year. However, we estimate one year from now that number will rise to between 250 and 300.
"We are recruiting in Australia so that we can train enough pilots to ensure we continue to have the capacity to meet our airline partners' demands," explains Mr Calvert.
Mr Calvert said three key factors were putting pressure on airlines worldwide and resulting in increased demand for CTC graduates: large aircraft orders, increasing passenger numbers in Asia, and the aging pilot population.
"CTC is one of the world's leading airline pilot training providers and we're ready to leverage our leadership to capitalise on this emerging growth opportunity," he says.
Since launching the Jetstar Cadetship in 2009, CTC has trained 30 pilots from Australia and New Zealand for the programme. There are currently an additional 12 pilots in training with CTC on the Jetstar Cadet Programme.
Mr Calvert says the Australian cadets the company has trained, so far, selected CTC over Australian-based pilot training providers.
"The Australians who have sought out the opportunity to train with CTC in New Zealand have done so primarily for two reasons. Firstly, they recognise that CTC's unwavering commitment to producing the highest quality airline pilots is highly respected by the major airlines around the world with whom we work closely with.
"And, secondly, New Zealand is a familiar, yet exciting, country for Australian trainees to live and work. Many see the opportunity to spend some time here while completing their flight training as an added bonus," explains Mr Calvert.
CTC Aviation Training (NZ) Ltd will make presentations to interested potential trainees in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney this month.
CTC trains between 1200 -1900 aircrew for more than 50 global airlines each year. In addition to its crew training centre in Hamilton, New Zealand, it has a further three centres in Bournemouth and Southampton in the UK.
3. Aussie-born astronaut locked in for Safeskies lecture
he globally recognised biennial safety conference, to be held in Canberra from October 25, is Safeskies's 10th and organisers are expecting about 400 to attend.
It will again attract the nation's top government and military aviation representatives as well as visitors from North America and Europe.
Safeskies was the brainchild of former Civil Aviation Authority chairman Ted Butcher, and the first conference, in 1993, featured US pilot, commentator and novelist John Nance as a keynote speaker.
Current president Peter Lloyd, who helped put the event on a financial footing in the 1990s, introduced in 1997 the idea of launching the conference with an international high-profile international guest speaker and a dinner.
This evolved into the Ansett Memorial Lecture and previous speakers have included former NASA astronaut John Young and aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan as well as airline executives Rod Eddington, Geoff Dixon and Alan Joyce.
This year's conference would look at where safety issues stood at present and the problems that could be anticipated in the next five to 10 years.
The conference's stature was now such that he had a "list as long as your arm" of people who wanted to speak at it and a longer list of those who wanted to deliver the Ansett lecture.
"It's got a sort of world imprimatur to it," he said, noting that it was unique in that it could boast attendance by the top government and military leaders.
This year's speakers include the federal Transport Department secretary Mike Mrdak, Civil Aviation Safety Authority director John McCormick, Airservices Australia boss Greg Russell and Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Martin Dolan.
Miltary representatives include the chief of air force, Air Marshall Geoff Brown, and Air Vice Marshall Mark Skidmore.
Among the overseas speakers are International Civil Aviation Organisation air navigation bureau deputy director Vince Galotti and the US Federal Aviation Administration's chief scientific and technical adviser for flight deck human factors, Kathy Abbott.
Also attending will be the Irish Aviation Authority safety regulation director Kevin Humphreys and Airbus chief product safety officer Yanick Malinge.
Strong police interest on discussions on remotely piloted aircraft, particularly a talk by US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Raymond King on the challenges involved.
He believes also the paper by retired Canadian judge Robert Wells, who headed the Newfoundland offshore helicopter safety inquiry, called after 17 people were killed in a 2009 crash, will be invaluable to helicopter pilots.
Mr Lloyd said the conference was pitched to a wide range of people at lower levels of various organisations to avoid what former CASA boss Bruce Byron called "talking heads talking to talking heads".
He expected the conference to be valuable for people wondering about the path to the future in aviation.
"They will go away with some highly stimulating ideas," he said.
"My feeling about this sort of conference is that if everyone who goes there takes away something he didn't know, something he's really thinking about, we've had a successful conference."
4. Qantas stoppages 'may last months'
The airline expects to cancel 28 flights and delay another 27 by up to 35 minutes because of the action. But it says it has been able to reduce the full impact of the industrial action by using bigger planes and deploying management to operational roles.
The latest tally of affected travellers is in addition to more than 10,000 passengers the airline calculates have been affected by ongoing industrial action by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association since late last month. The ALAEA moved on Friday to extend overtime bans to weekdays as it continues nationwide hour-long rolling stoppages. A stoppage in Sydney today is expected to affect six flights and about 800 passengers.
Pilots, who said 22,000 people had signed a petition supporting their cause, warned that they would also boost their low-key campaign if conciliation talks with the company failed.
Qantas expects further delays over the next two days because of 48-hour TWU bans that are also part of the action by baggage handlers, ramp workers and caterers.
"The TWU is intent on causing disruptions to Qantas passengers and we are doing everything we possibly can to reduce the delays and cancellations," Qantas group executive Olivia Wirth said.
However, the airline also warned that it would reject any attempt by workers to return to work before the end of the four hours.
Qantas argues that the union's pay claim of 15 per cent over the next three years is not sustainable in the current economic climate and that its TWU workers are already highly paid.
But it is the so-called job security claim of requiring Qantas contractors to be paid the same as staff members that is the biggest sticking point.
This would remove the company's flexibility to scale up or down its workforce according to demand for its flights.
TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon predicted the campaign would last months and accused the airline of pursuing "an ideological wet dream" by stonewalling in the hope of an Abbott government.
He said the company was refusing to negotiate on the contractors, as well as a "fair-dealing" clause relating to claims about its business and a requirement that aviation security passes be issued to any airport worker in the airline's supply chain.
Meanwhile, Qantas faced further turmoil yesterday after two unscreened passengers entered its Sydney domestic terminal through an exit door and forced the evacuation of 2000 people.
Twelve flights were delayed as the airline was forced to rescreen passengers over two hours and the terminal was swept by the federal police.
Passengers expressed disappointment about poor communication and the apologetic airline said it would conduct a full investigation into the breach, the second at the terminal this year.
Aviation NEWS By
Neha Jain
Aviation NEWS Reporter
1. US, Australia sign key aviation biofuels accord
In San Francisco, the U.S. FAA and Australia’s Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism have reached a Memorandum of Understanding to continue research and development of clean, sustainable alternative aviation fuels.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and Australian Ambassador to the United States Kim Beazley signed the agreement at the APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) Transport & Energy Ministers Ministerial Conference Summit meetings in San Francisco.
The MOU calls for Australia and the United States to exchange information about policies, programs, projects, research results, and publications, and to conduct joint studies in areas such as fuel sources and environmental impacts. The memorandum also facilitates analysis of fuel source supply chains. The signing nations agree to cover the associated costs.
“Air travel is global and we need international partners to develop these innovative new fuels,” Secretary LaHood told reporters. “Our ultimate goal is to work with all of the Asia Pacific nations to achieve a sustainable, independent energy future for aviation, and this is an exciting first step.” The MOU enables Australia and the United States to exchange information on policies, programs, projects, and research results, and to conduct joint studies in areas such investigation of new fuel sources and conducting environmental impacts.
Aspects of significance
“From the government perspective, and what we choose as a framework for APEC,” CAAFI Executive Director Rick Altman said, “this agreement is fairly unique, in that you have the agreement being developed out of the private sector, and then they have brought this to the government to recognize and support – as opposed to the government developing this, and saying “here” to the private sector.”
Three aspects of the agreement should draw special attention from followers of bioenergy’s story arc.
1. Unlike other government to government agreements that emerge from time to time, this agreement sprung out of the private sector, primarily driven by the CAAFI private-public partnership in the US , and Austrade and the US Studies Center at the University of Sydney, for Australia.
2. This agreement is “operational” not “aspirational” which makes it unique among other cross border activities in which the CAAFI coalition has been engaged in that their are discreet specifics that fill gaps in the overall global aviation biofuels efforts to which we can both make contributions.
3. This MOU can realistically form a template for efforts for in the Asia Pacific region as a whole, and other regions.
The origins of the agreement
Dr. Susan Pond of the US Studies Center recalls: “Rich Altman and I met in October last year through Austrade in DC, and at that time we hatched the idea of a forum at the Avalon Air Show, where we held seminars every day (before the jets drowned us out). In Australia, we saw a real appetite for connection internationally and particularly with US for aviation, and in fact a group had formed earlier under SAFUG (Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group) to start working on roadmap, with Boeing, Qantas, Virgin, GE and CSIRO involved, and in particular getting catalysis and knowledge from boeing.
“After Avalon, we had the idea of an MOU or an agreement between the US and Australia, which I presented to the Australian government in Canberra including people at the Ministry of Resources Energy & Tourism and Ministry of Transport. CAAFI, myself, FAA and Austrade had a meeting towards a more formal agreement at the Advanced Biofuels Leadership Conference in DC earlier this year, and as another part of the process we went to a prep meeting for APEC and put it on the APEC agreement agenda, and it was signed of the margins of the APEC meeting.”
CAAFI’s Rich Altman added: “There were discussions that predated this process, such as discussions between the Volpe Center and CSIRO. But we quickly identified areas to work together – road-mapping, scenario planning, and matching up feedstock with fuel suppliers. At the next CAAFI meeting in November we will put even more meat on the work plan.”
The key elements
Key elements in work plan for now include: scenario analysis, feedstock readiness, sustainability, data sharing, fuels certification, plus development on a variety of alternative fuel pathways, including fuels out of synthetic biology processing, alcohol to jet fuels, and fuels made from pyrolytic processes.
One of the areas of greatest concern and focus is feedstock readiness – there being around the world a sense that the aviation community has been able to advance on fuels testing and certification fare faster than the feedstock community has been able to ramp op on scale.
Feedstocks of interest
In the agreement, there is a focus on US technologies and Australian feedstocks. Besides the well-known focus on development of algal fuels in Australia, “the main feedstocks of interest are sugar,” observed Dr. Pond, “there’s a lot of bagasse that can be diverted. Also, oilseed crops, some of which are already grown, like mustard seed – as a break crop for soil as well as the oil benefit. Lignocellulosic crops are not used on an aggregated basis at this time, except for power. But that’s where CSIRO is especially good – they have done the mapping and aggregation to prepare for that sector.”
The Global Template
There’s an interest in duplicating this type of agreement,” said CAAFI’s Altman. “It was brought up in Sept meeting, and we could be working as early as March on something. As far as where this model would work, follow the feedstocks. There are feedstock rich regions throughout Southeast Asia that fits the bill. Plus there are countries with a strong aviation industry component, for example, there may be interest in Japan, given the fact that the aircraft and engine partnerships are already in place there. Plus there are countries like Singapore, where you have the refining capacity. In that case, there’s been activity between FAA and Singapore, which has a strong aviation community and is surrounded by the feedstocks in the neighboring countries.”
The governmental role
“The government will have a very important educative role,” remarked Dr. Pond. “AUstralia is just now finalizing its alternative fuels strategy, but in general we know that agricultural subsidies, for example, are much greater in the US than in Australia and the industry will need to be pulled rather than pushed. So, education of the constituencies, such as farmers, will not work the same.”
Policy Stability
“Market forces are driving this sector,” said Altman, “and there are strong forces that will sustain this. For example, as prominent as aviation has become within the biofuels community, aviation consumes twice as much fuel relative to road transport in Australia than here. Plus, the depletion of oil refining capacity is much greater in Australia than here. And, its much easier to align the players – for example, it is very difficult to align commercial and military people in the EU, for historical reasons, but it is not an issue in Australia.
“I don’t see that the MOU would be cancelled” added Dr. Pond, “if there was a change in government. The carbon tax which is coming in will be so difficult to unwind if it is finally passed towards the end of the year, and the private aviation sector isn’t going to change. So the meta-policy environment is going to have a great deal driving it.”
“CAAFI started under the Bush Administration,” noted Altman, “and then continued and accelerated under the Obama administration. Usually, a new government comes in and looks for good ideas and seeks to embrace them. And we see that at the state level, too. Those states that are changing policy, are still looking to embrace initiatives like this. All governments want to be successful, and I suspect that applies to governments here or there.”
2. Australian pilot trainees wooed to NZ
CTC Aviation Training (NZ) Limited, a world-leading airline pilot training provider with a base in Hamilton, is wooing Australian trainees across the Tasman through a nationwide, Australian recruitment drive starting this month.
The company provides pilot graduates to Jetstar Australia, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific and a large number of European airlines.
CTC Aviation Training CEO, Ian Calvert, says in addition to continuing to recruit New Zealanders, the company is now actively recruiting pilots in Australia for the first time, due to increased airline demand.
"CTC is currently supplying pilots to Jetstar Australia, who require a number of pilots in the next 12 months. Plus, Jetstar Asia in Singapore has asked for 15 pilots in training by 31 March 2012.
"Additionally, CTC is in negotiations with major airlines in Asia, the Middle East and Europe who are all signalling a huge demand for pilots in both the short- and long-term. We currently train around 180 airline pilots in New Zealand each year. However, we estimate one year from now that number will rise to between 250 and 300.
"We are recruiting in Australia so that we can train enough pilots to ensure we continue to have the capacity to meet our airline partners' demands," explains Mr Calvert.
Mr Calvert said three key factors were putting pressure on airlines worldwide and resulting in increased demand for CTC graduates: large aircraft orders, increasing passenger numbers in Asia, and the aging pilot population.
"CTC is one of the world's leading airline pilot training providers and we're ready to leverage our leadership to capitalise on this emerging growth opportunity," he says.
Since launching the Jetstar Cadetship in 2009, CTC has trained 30 pilots from Australia and New Zealand for the programme. There are currently an additional 12 pilots in training with CTC on the Jetstar Cadet Programme.
Mr Calvert says the Australian cadets the company has trained, so far, selected CTC over Australian-based pilot training providers.
"The Australians who have sought out the opportunity to train with CTC in New Zealand have done so primarily for two reasons. Firstly, they recognise that CTC's unwavering commitment to producing the highest quality airline pilots is highly respected by the major airlines around the world with whom we work closely with.
"And, secondly, New Zealand is a familiar, yet exciting, country for Australian trainees to live and work. Many see the opportunity to spend some time here while completing their flight training as an added bonus," explains Mr Calvert.
CTC Aviation Training (NZ) Ltd will make presentations to interested potential trainees in Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne or Sydney this month.
CTC trains between 1200 -1900 aircrew for more than 50 global airlines each year. In addition to its crew training centre in Hamilton, New Zealand, it has a further three centres in Bournemouth and Southampton in the UK.
3. Aussie-born astronaut locked in for Safeskies lecture
he globally recognised biennial safety conference, to be held in Canberra from October 25, is Safeskies's 10th and organisers are expecting about 400 to attend.
It will again attract the nation's top government and military aviation representatives as well as visitors from North America and Europe.
Safeskies was the brainchild of former Civil Aviation Authority chairman Ted Butcher, and the first conference, in 1993, featured US pilot, commentator and novelist John Nance as a keynote speaker.
Current president Peter Lloyd, who helped put the event on a financial footing in the 1990s, introduced in 1997 the idea of launching the conference with an international high-profile international guest speaker and a dinner.
This evolved into the Ansett Memorial Lecture and previous speakers have included former NASA astronaut John Young and aeronautical engineer Burt Rutan as well as airline executives Rod Eddington, Geoff Dixon and Alan Joyce.
This year's conference would look at where safety issues stood at present and the problems that could be anticipated in the next five to 10 years.
The conference's stature was now such that he had a "list as long as your arm" of people who wanted to speak at it and a longer list of those who wanted to deliver the Ansett lecture.
"It's got a sort of world imprimatur to it," he said, noting that it was unique in that it could boast attendance by the top government and military leaders.
This year's speakers include the federal Transport Department secretary Mike Mrdak, Civil Aviation Safety Authority director John McCormick, Airservices Australia boss Greg Russell and Australian Transport Safety Bureau chief commissioner Martin Dolan.
Miltary representatives include the chief of air force, Air Marshall Geoff Brown, and Air Vice Marshall Mark Skidmore.
Among the overseas speakers are International Civil Aviation Organisation air navigation bureau deputy director Vince Galotti and the US Federal Aviation Administration's chief scientific and technical adviser for flight deck human factors, Kathy Abbott.
Also attending will be the Irish Aviation Authority safety regulation director Kevin Humphreys and Airbus chief product safety officer Yanick Malinge.
Strong police interest on discussions on remotely piloted aircraft, particularly a talk by US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Raymond King on the challenges involved.
He believes also the paper by retired Canadian judge Robert Wells, who headed the Newfoundland offshore helicopter safety inquiry, called after 17 people were killed in a 2009 crash, will be invaluable to helicopter pilots.
Mr Lloyd said the conference was pitched to a wide range of people at lower levels of various organisations to avoid what former CASA boss Bruce Byron called "talking heads talking to talking heads".
He expected the conference to be valuable for people wondering about the path to the future in aviation.
"They will go away with some highly stimulating ideas," he said.
"My feeling about this sort of conference is that if everyone who goes there takes away something he didn't know, something he's really thinking about, we've had a successful conference."
4. Qantas stoppages 'may last months'
The airline expects to cancel 28 flights and delay another 27 by up to 35 minutes because of the action. But it says it has been able to reduce the full impact of the industrial action by using bigger planes and deploying management to operational roles.
The latest tally of affected travellers is in addition to more than 10,000 passengers the airline calculates have been affected by ongoing industrial action by the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association since late last month. The ALAEA moved on Friday to extend overtime bans to weekdays as it continues nationwide hour-long rolling stoppages. A stoppage in Sydney today is expected to affect six flights and about 800 passengers.
Pilots, who said 22,000 people had signed a petition supporting their cause, warned that they would also boost their low-key campaign if conciliation talks with the company failed.
Qantas expects further delays over the next two days because of 48-hour TWU bans that are also part of the action by baggage handlers, ramp workers and caterers.
"The TWU is intent on causing disruptions to Qantas passengers and we are doing everything we possibly can to reduce the delays and cancellations," Qantas group executive Olivia Wirth said.
However, the airline also warned that it would reject any attempt by workers to return to work before the end of the four hours.
Qantas argues that the union's pay claim of 15 per cent over the next three years is not sustainable in the current economic climate and that its TWU workers are already highly paid.
But it is the so-called job security claim of requiring Qantas contractors to be paid the same as staff members that is the biggest sticking point.
This would remove the company's flexibility to scale up or down its workforce according to demand for its flights.
TWU national secretary Tony Sheldon predicted the campaign would last months and accused the airline of pursuing "an ideological wet dream" by stonewalling in the hope of an Abbott government.
He said the company was refusing to negotiate on the contractors, as well as a "fair-dealing" clause relating to claims about its business and a requirement that aviation security passes be issued to any airport worker in the airline's supply chain.
Meanwhile, Qantas faced further turmoil yesterday after two unscreened passengers entered its Sydney domestic terminal through an exit door and forced the evacuation of 2000 people.
Twelve flights were delayed as the airline was forced to rescreen passengers over two hours and the terminal was swept by the federal police.
Passengers expressed disappointment about poor communication and the apologetic airline said it would conduct a full investigation into the breach, the second at the terminal this year.
Australian Aviation NEWS
Aviation NEWS By
Neha Jain
Aviation NEWS Reporter
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