Black Friday chaos for Qantas & related stories

Qantas have cancelled 31 peak hour flights and delayed a further 46 tomorrow as they prepare for the peak hour (0800-0900) strike by engineers.

About 1600 union members will stop work for an hour at all airports from 8am local time tomorrow, effectively causing the delays to extend over several hours, according to the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA). The move comes after enterprise bargaining negotiations stalled.

Read about the strike and its effects HERE

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In related news Qantas pilots are planning a stop work meeting and threatening strike action after their job security demands have not been met.

The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) says it has "drawn a line in the sand" because Qantas management is not negotiating seriously.
It says if Qantas does not signal a change of intent by close of business on Thursday next week (May 19), the union will take the first steps toward protected industrial action.

 Read more about the Pilots industrial issues HERE

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In further related news the painting of Jetconnect Boeing 737-800 ZK-ZQF in Wallabies colours has further heightened the divide between pilots and Qantas as pilots see it as evidence of outsourcing operations.

Read the full story HERE

See ZK-ZQF in Wallabies colours at fellow blogs MRC Aviation HERE and 3rd Level New Zealand HERE