By Patrick Hatch
Qantas pilots say the airline is "very ambitious" in expecting to negotiate a new pay deal with them by the end of the year.
The airline aims to launch non-stop flights from east-coast Australia to London and New York and chief executive Alan Joyce last month said getting pilots to agree to "productivity improvements" was crucial to make the ultra-long haul routes from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane viable.
Qantas says it needs to make a definitive decision on the new routes by the end of this year. Credit: Glenn Hunt
Qantas will decide by the end of December whether or not to go ahead with its so-called "Project Sunrise", which will be the world's longest commercial flights at almost 20 hours.
However negotiations with pilots are at an early stage, with formal enterprise bargain agreement talks commencing last month and Qantas yet to present an offer to its pilot group.
That means negotiations will have to be completed in less than four months from start to finish. In contrast, a long-haul EBA signed in 2015 took six months to agree on, and negotiations for a new short-haul EBA has been underway for 18 months and is ongoing.
The Australian and International Pilots Association's president Mark Sedgwick said Qantas' self-imposed deadline would not influence their members' bargaining position.
“Sunrise is a decision for Qantas management to make," he said.
"The timeline at this point is very ambitious."
Qantas has said it must make a definitive decision on Sunrise by the end of the year so its fleet management team can start deciding what aeroplanes should replace its aging domestic fleet of 737s.
Mr Sedgwick would not comment on the specific details of the negotiations. He said pilots would view the "productivity" push in the context of concessions pilots made in 2015, which were tied to the introduction of Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and delivered a 30 per cent productivity improvement through rostering flexibility and wages.
Mr Joyce said Qantas could complete the work required to make a decision on Sunrise by the end of the year, but also warned the project was not "too big to fail" and would only go ahead if it stacked up financially.
“It’s like herding everything in the right direction," he said.
"There’s really good progress been made.... [but] this has to hit the hurdles that we’ve been setting for it."
Mr Joyce declined to say what it wanted from pilots and would offer in exchange. In the past the airline has generally highlighted that new aircraft and new routes creates opportunities for promotions and pay rises for pilots by opening up new positions on the flight deck.
Qantas has received final financial offers from Airbus for its A350-1000 and from Boeing for its 777-8X, with concession from Boeing due to delays bringing that new aircraft to market. The airline originally wanted to launch the services in late 2022 or early 2023 but that will be pushed back if it chooses Boeing's jet.
Meanwhile the airline needs to convince Australia's airline regulator, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority, that its pilots can fly the near 20-hour missions safely.
It has also developed a "high level" design concept for the jets interiors which it will send out to seat manufacturers for tender.