Last week I wrote about the cancellations due to industrial action at Jetstar and in this post, I’ll provide an update and what to expect in the near future.
The strikes have been causing absolute chaos for travellers, and it couldn’t come at a worse time, right on Christmas holidays were air travel is at an all-time high. Not only do these stikes cause frustration and anger for passengers but the airline itself has also stated how much they’ve already lost due to these cancellations in December and into January – 20-25 million dollars in profits lost is the estimated amount.
Here’s what Jetstar CEO Gareth Evans had to say:
“Industrial action doesn’t change the fact the wage claims being made by the TWU and AFAP are unsustainable. In the case of the pilots, the union is asking for what amounts to a 15 per cent wage increase in the first year in a group where captains earn more than $300,000 a year. For some groups, their salaries would increase by $60,000. We can’t agree to that.
“The TWU’s claims equate to a 12 per cent increase in costs for Jetstar ground crew who earn around $70,000 per year on a part time basis and around $90,000 per year on a full time basis. This is despite the same union agreeing to a three per cent wages deal in other parts of the Qantas Group.
“There’s no doubt that industrial action is expensive and frustrating, but we have to hold the line on costs or it threatens the long term sustainability of our business. We apologise to the customers whose plans have been caught up in what the unions are doing.”
- Jetstar will be reducing their domestic services by 10% in January
The airline stated that in January 2020, they would be reducing their domestic services by 10% to help reduce further losses caused by the industrial action. The airline hasn’t yet stated which routes exactly will be reduced, and that will, of course, come to light in the coming weeks if not days. I would also say that if these industrial actions continue, the airline may be forced to reduce even more services.
- Jetstar are actively looking to remove 3 of their 787-8 aircraft from the fleet
Jetstar has also announced that due to low demand on their 787’s and continued loss of revenue, they want to sell off 3 of their 787-8 aircraft. The LCC will be making their decision on the aircraft in the first quarter of next year.
Jetstar currently operates the 787 on the following routes: Sydney – Denpasar, Sydney – Ho Chi Minh, Sydney – Honolulu, Sydney – Phuket, Brisbane – Denpasar, Gold Coast – Tokyo Narita, Gold Coast – Seoul, Cairns – Narita, Cairns – Osaka, Melbourne – Bangkok, Melbourne – Phuket, Melbourne – Singapore, Melbourne – Zhengzhou, Melbourne – Melbourne – Denpasar, Melbourne – Ho Chi Minh City.
Jetstar 787-8 Dreamliner
As you can see, it’s a pretty unsettling situation over at Jetstar, and it’ll be interesting to see what happens over the next few weeks. The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) has said that they will not be striking from between the 20th of December and the 3rd of January. However, as of today, there’s still no word what the Transport Workers Union (TWU) will do and if they’ll continue to take action.
As more information becomes available, I’ll be posting regular updates on the situation as I know things do affect a lot of people.
