Qantas age discrimination case resolved

A pilot who accused Qantas of age discrimination after it offered him early retirement instead of redundancy has settled his case.

Qantas pilots at work. Many international pilots have not flown since late March 2020. Picture: Supplied

Qantas has settled a case brought against the airline by Captain Andrew Hewitt, who had alleged he was the victim of age discrimination.

The son of former Qantas chairman Sir Lenox Hewitt was offered early retirement rather than redundancy when the Covid-19 pandemic struck last year, because he was over 63.

Qantas’s reasoning was that pilots like Captain Hewitt would reach age 65 before international flying was able to resume, which would rule them out of operating overseas commercial flights.

Under international civil aviation laws, a pilot cannot operate international airline flights after reaching 65.

Captain Hewitt argued that an early retirement package was worth considerably less than redundancy, at the equivalent of four months pay as opposed to 12 months.

The matter was filed in the Federal Court of New South Wales in February after the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission found there was no reasonable prospect of conciliation.

Captain Hewitt joined Qantas in 1980, the year his father’s five-year term as chairman came to an end.

Sir Lenox was credited with broadening the appeal and ­accessibility of international flights, somewhat controversially introducing free drinks and lowering fares.

As a career Boeing 747 pilot, Captain Hewitt had risen to number four on the airline’s long-haul operations seniority list and was among 55 pilots offered early retirement last year.

All but four accepted with another, Captain Paul Summers, also taking legal action against Qantas in the Federal Court.

Captain Summers scored a minor victory in his case in April, winning an injunction to stop the airline terminating his employment until the matter could be heard by the HREOC.

He recently changed his legal representation to the same firm as Captain Hewitt, Hunter Flood Lawyers.

Partner Kim Hunter would not comment on the confidential settlement negotiated for Captain Hewitt with Qantas, two months after the parties entered mediation.

The pandemic has drawn the curtains on many pilots’ careers, including that of Captain Richard de Crespigny, who famously led the team that guided flight QF32 to safety after an engine exploded on the A380.

At age 63, Captain de Crespigny was among those to accept early retirement although he expressed disappointment his stellar career had been brought to a premature end.

About 200 who applied for voluntary redundancy were successful and Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce recently announced another round of VRs for international cabin crew.

Since the pandemic struck in early 2020, Qantas has shed 8500 of its 29,000 strong workforce, retired its 747 fleet and mothballed its 12 A380s in the California desert.

International flights were suspended in late March 2020, and 7500 employees remain stood down.

Mr Joyce had hoped to resume regular international flights in December in the expectation most Australians would be vaccinated against Covid-19 by then. But the federal budget nominated mid-2022 as the likely date that borders would reopen.

Originally published as Qantas age discrimination case resolved