Qantas angers unions by sending 300 jobs offshore but says safety is its No.1 priority

QANTAS denies it's putting profit before safety in its decision to close move work from its Avalon maintenance facility overseas.

Qantas has decided to send the 300 maintenance jobs from its Avalon maintenance facility offshore.

QANTAS has chosen to send more than 300 maintenance jobs offshore rather than move them to Brisbane.

The airline has confirmed that maintenance of its Boeing 747 aircraft will join its Airbus A380 fleet in being sent overseas after the closure of its operations at Victoria's Avalon Airport in March.

The move comes as a blow for Qantas' heavy maintenance facility in Brisbane, which has been in the running to get the work.

The Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association said the news, first flagged in November, also ended hope that some of the 307 engineering staff at Avalon might find other work with Qantas, adding them to the jobless queue.

"Qantas were aware from the outset that the Brisbane facility was overflowing with excess work and couldn't cope with any 747 maintenance," ALAEA federal secretary Steve Purvinas said.

"We feel cheated by the Qantas negotiators who made out that the decision to close Avalon was a win for Brisbane."

In a letter to the ALAEA, Qantas said the airline had to improve productivity and efficiency to contribute to the company's overall profitability.

"In this context, a decision to acquit the Boeing 747 base maintenance within one of Qantas' existing facilities would have been unproductive and inefficient, and was not an option which was reasonably or responsibly open to me," the letter said.

The airline will initially send two Boeing 747 aircraft due for maintenance in May to the HAECO facility in Hong Kong.

A decision will be made later on a final destination for the ongoing heavy maintenance of the jumbo jet fleet, with Asian destinations such as Manila, Hong Kong and Singapore considered by analysts to be the most likely to get the work.

Mr Purvinas characterised the decision to move the work offshore as putting profit before safety.

"Qantas are fully aware that the last time HAECO carried out heavy maintenance on a Qantas 747, the aircraft was released to service with all four engines incorrectly bolted to the airframe," he said.

Qantas International head of engineering Alan Milne dismissed Mr Purvinas' claims, and said the Hong Kong maintenance will be carried out by providers which work for global airlines Cathay Pacific, United and Delta.

"We strongly reject the union's claim that Qantas would ever compromise safety, it's our No.1 priority," he said.

"These claims were investigated at the time by both Qantas and CASA, but found there was no safety issues with the installation of washers on the aircraft."

When Qantas announced plans in November to shut its Avalon facility, it said the Victorian facility would not have work for 22 months over the next four years as the Boeing 747 fleet shrinks from 36 in 2004 to 15 today and just 10 in three years.

It comes as the airline, which is facing a pre-tax loss of up to $300 million for the half-year, has embarked on a $2 billion cost-cutting drive which it says will involve the loss of up to 1000 jobs over the next year.

Further cost-cutting details are expected at the airline's first-half results announcement next month.

Qantas said it continues to do heavy maintenance on more than 110 aircraft at its Brisbane facility, including its fleet of Boeing 737s, Boeing 767s and Airbus A330s.