Qantas 'threat' to pilots spurs progress in talks

A threat by Qantas to set up a new group of pilots to fly ultra-long-range Project Sunrise flights has had the desired effect, CEO Alan Joyce has suggested.
Last week Qantas informed its pilots it was determined to push ahead with the flights from 2023 and if it could not get agreement on a pay deal by the end of March it would create a new employment entity to operate the services.

Speaking at the airline’s half-year results on Thursday, Mr Joyce said the negotiating team headed by former Australian and International Pilots Association president Nathan Safe had reported making more progress in the past week than in the past seven months. “We are making progress and our No 1, No 2 and No 3 choice is to do a deal with our pilots to get this flying to occur and that’s what we’re focused on, but this is too critical for us to walk away from and we will be doing it,” Mr Joyce said.

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***This article has been reproduced with the permission of Robyn Ironside at The Australian.***