Qantas tries London-Sydney non-stop flight amid Jetstar strike threats
Qantas will try another ultra long-haul flight to Australia as Jetstar pilots threaten to walk off the job during the Christmas period.
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The first direct Qantas flight from London to Sydney in 30 years could see a massive tourism boom and cement Sydney’s position as a global city, national airliner chief Alan Joyce has said.
An array of top business people, volunteers and Australia’s High Commissioner to London George Brandis will take part in a test flight from Heathrow to Sydney to see how a regular direct service could work from the year 2023.
Qantas staff and researchers from the University of Sydney are testing how people handle the nearly 20 hour flight, how to reduce jet lag and the best ways to keep airline pilots alert.
If the test and another flight from New York are a success, both Sydney and Melbourne could see direct flights to both London and NYC which would have been unthinkable only a few years ago.
It comes as pilots from Qantas’ budget subsidiary, Jetstar, threaten to strike at Christmas time - a move that could leave thousands of travellers stranded.
Mr Joyce told News Corp Australia in London before the historic flight that the direct service from Europe and the US to Sydney could finally tear down the last barriers to Sydney taking its place on the world stage.
“We know that people from the east coast of the United States and Europe sometimes find it just too far away. And we think Sunrise will be phenomenal for Sydney,” he said.
“It will encourage more people to travel. Making it feel that bit closer will make all the difference for families and for business activity between the cities.
“People want to overcome this last frontier.”
A direct service to both New York and London could be game changers for Sydney. The Daily Telegraph’s Project Sydney has already secured big changes for a global Sydney including a second airport at Badgerys Creek.
The last direct Qantas flight from London to Sydney in 1989 took more than 20 hours but the flight landing in Sydney Airport on Friday will only take just over 19 hours.
It will land 100 years to the day the first aeroplane ride from London to Australia arrived Down Under, which took 28 days.
Passengers will take part in a number of experiments including adjusting lights to people get their body clocks in synch with Sydney time, and eating the right foods to keep them awake or send them to sleep.
The flight’s pilots will also be subjected to urine and brainwave tests to show how they are coping.
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Qantas must do these tests to satisfy international regulators that the flights are safe for both passengers and crew, before Mr Joyce can give the direct service the green light later this year.
Qantas’s London to Perth direct flight service has been a big tourism grabber for Western Australia and Mr Joyce predicted the 2023 flight service to Sydney could reap similar benefits.
He also hopes to start a similar direct service for a growing Melbourne.
“We look at the economic activity that’s been generated in Perth … it’s generated hundreds of jobs, it’s generated a lot of tourism. We think the same could happen in the tourism market in Sydney.
“The flight to Sydney has grabbed the public’s attention here in London. All the major UK newspapers and TV channels are interested.
“So many people in the UK have a trip to Australia on their bucket list. And there a lot of families who have relatives in Australia. And they want to make it a little easier to see their family and friends.”
JETSTAR PILOTS CONSIDER STRIKE ACTION
Frustrated Jetstar pilots are considering walking off the job over Christmas as enterprise agreement negotiations struggle to progress.
Rostering practices and salaries have emerged as the sticking point, with Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP) executive director Simon Lutton saying the workers had been left with “no choice” than to pursue industrial action.
“The Jetstar pilots are disappointed to have to take this step but, as negotiating with the company in good faith has got them nowhere, they have been left with no choice,” Mr Lutton said, according to The Australian.
“Jetstar pilots are the lowest-paid jet airline pilots employed by the four major carriers operating in Australia and they are tired of not being valued as highly as their peers at other airlines.”
AFAP has now applied to the Fair Work Commission for a ballot of members at Jetstar.
A strike could mean 24-hour stoppages or pilots refusing to work longer than their rostered hours.
A Jetstar spokesperson told The Australian the move toward industrial action was disappointing given they had been in “constructive discussions (with AFAP) about a new enterprise agreement since January”.
“We remain committed to reaching an agreement for a new EBA to support the great work our people do every day, but not an any cost,” she said.
Jetstar have reportedly offered to continue giving their pilots 3 per cent annual wage increases. However, the union’s proposal would lead to a 15 per cent increase in pilot costs, according to The New Daily, which the airline was not prepared to offer.
- with staff writers
Originally published as Qantas tries London-Sydney non-stop flight amid Jetstar strike threats
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