Court ruling gets Qantas flying again
Source: Agencies |
November 1, 2011, Tuesday
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Print Edition
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QANTAS Airways planes returned to the skies yesterday after an Australian court ruled on a labor dispute that had prompted the world's 10th-largest airline to ground its entire fleet.
A flight from Sydney to Jakarta, Indonesia, took off shortly after Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority gave Qantas the all-clear to resume flying.
Qantas said in a statement it expected some delays as it worked to clear the backlog of customers affected by the nearly 48-hour grounding. The airline is adding extra flights and expects its schedule to return to normal within one or two days.
The grounding disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of people, and Qantas passengers were gathering at airports in Australia, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the hope of finally reaching their destinations.
The airline's resumption of flights comes after an emergency ruling by an arbitration court ended weeks of strikes and a staff lockout.
The ruling was a major victory in the airline's battle with unions representing pilots, aircraft mechanics, baggage handlers and caterers, whose rolling strikes have forced the cancellation of 600 flights in recent months, disrupted travel for 70,000 passengers and cost Qantas A$70 million (US$75 million).
But some aviation experts said the surprise grounding of all 108 planes on Saturday, at a cost of US$20 million a day, has hurt the Australian flagship carrier's reputation around the world.
Rating agency Moody's said it may downgrade the airline's credit ratings as the weekend's events could hurt bookings, profits and the value of the Qantas brand.
However, the stock market welcomed the weekend's developments, seeing them as allowing the airline to focus on its long-term strategy. Qantas shares yesterday jumped 4.3 percent to A$1.61 in Sydney.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce praised the court ruling, which prevents unions from taking further strike action over demands for pay rises and job security clauses under new contracts being negotiated.
Three judges heard more than 14 hours of testimony from the airline, the government and unions. Workers have held rolling strikes and refused overtime work for weeks out of worry that some of Qantas's 32,500 jobs would be moved overseas in a restructuring plan.
The panel decided a temporary suspension would not protect the tourism and aviation industries from damage.
A flight from Sydney to Jakarta, Indonesia, took off shortly after Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority gave Qantas the all-clear to resume flying.
Qantas said in a statement it expected some delays as it worked to clear the backlog of customers affected by the nearly 48-hour grounding. The airline is adding extra flights and expects its schedule to return to normal within one or two days.
The grounding disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of people, and Qantas passengers were gathering at airports in Australia, Los Angeles and elsewhere in the hope of finally reaching their destinations.
The airline's resumption of flights comes after an emergency ruling by an arbitration court ended weeks of strikes and a staff lockout.
The ruling was a major victory in the airline's battle with unions representing pilots, aircraft mechanics, baggage handlers and caterers, whose rolling strikes have forced the cancellation of 600 flights in recent months, disrupted travel for 70,000 passengers and cost Qantas A$70 million (US$75 million).
But some aviation experts said the surprise grounding of all 108 planes on Saturday, at a cost of US$20 million a day, has hurt the Australian flagship carrier's reputation around the world.
Rating agency Moody's said it may downgrade the airline's credit ratings as the weekend's events could hurt bookings, profits and the value of the Qantas brand.
However, the stock market welcomed the weekend's developments, seeing them as allowing the airline to focus on its long-term strategy. Qantas shares yesterday jumped 4.3 percent to A$1.61 in Sydney.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce praised the court ruling, which prevents unions from taking further strike action over demands for pay rises and job security clauses under new contracts being negotiated.
Three judges heard more than 14 hours of testimony from the airline, the government and unions. Workers have held rolling strikes and refused overtime work for weeks out of worry that some of Qantas's 32,500 jobs would be moved overseas in a restructuring plan.
The panel decided a temporary suspension would not protect the tourism and aviation industries from damage.
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