Qantas pilots vote in favour of Project Sunrise long-haul deal

Qantas pilots have voted in favour of a new long-haul deal that will see them operate Project Sunrise flights.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce speaks to student pilots at the Qantas training academy in Toowoomba.

Qantas long-haul pilots have voted in favour of an agreement covering work on the new A350 aircraft on 20-hour-plus services between Australia’s east coast and cities in the US and Europe, including New York and London.

The final vote count was 85 per cent in favour of the agreement, which includes a 3 per cent annual pay rise and increased flexibility with rostering.

The deal also covers off the terms and conditions for operating new A350-1000 aircraft, which will be used for the “Project Sunrise” flights from early 2023.

Qantas had threatened to go outside its current pilot group and set up a “new employment entity” if they did not agree to the deal.

Australian and International Pilots’ Association president Mark Sedgwick said the favourable vote was a “sensible outcome” given the horrendous economic conditions.

“I think there still would have been an affirmative outcome (to the vote) without COVID-19, which is obviously posing a massive challenge for the aviation industry,” he said.

“Many of our members are stood down from flying on no pay with no end in sight.” He said Qantas’s “threats” during the negotiating process were unhelpful, with many pilots distracted by the suggestion the airline would look beyond its own employees if they did not accept the offer.

“Despite the poor approach by management, this result demonstrates the power of the strong relationship between AIPA and its members,” Mr Sedgwick said.

“Our attention now turns to the immediate needs of member pilots during this global health crisis which has brought the aviation industry to its knees.

“Although people will start flying again and demand will come back, no one knows when that is likely to be.”

Qantas chief pilot Dick Tobiano said the vote, undertaken over the past 10 days, had come at a difficult time for pilots but it was important to keep looking ahead.

“The extraordinary circumstances facing aviation has seen Airbus agree to extend the deadline on our decision to purchase the A350s so we can both focus on navigating the coronavirus crisis,” Captain Tobiano said.

“But when this period has passed, and it will, we will refocus our attention on Project Sunrise and the A350 order.”

Under the deal, pilots who fly new A350s would have the same hourly rates as captains and first officers currently operating Boeing 747s.

Second officers would be paid at a lower rate, which had been a source of contention throughout the negotiation.

Project Sunrise flights, providing non-stop links from Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to cities such as New York, London and Paris, among others, are due to take off in 2023.

Only Jetstar pilots are yet to reach a new agreement with their employer, after Qantas short-haul pilots signed up for a new deal earlier this year.

Many of the Qantas Group ­pilots have been stood down as a result of coronavirus-related cutbacks that have grounded 150 aircraft, more than half the fleet.