Qantas pushing Boeing, Airbus, pilots, to realise Project Sunrise

Qantas is pushing Boeing, Airbus and pilots to realise its long-haul dream, but there is a Plan B if it doesn’t come off.

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce poses with flight deck crew during the Qantas celebration of the arrival of London To Sydney direct flight and centenary event. Picture: Getty Images

Qantas has revealed it has asked Boeing and Airbus to improve on their “best offers” for potential Project Sunrise aircraft, as the airline continues to negotiate with pilots to fly the ultra-long-range missions.

The aircraft being considered for the proposed flights between Australia’s east coast and cities like New York and London, include Boeing’s 777X-8 and Airbus’s A350-1000.

Speaking at the Qantas Investor Day in Sydney on Tuesday, group CEO Alan Joyce said the aircraft manufacturers had been asked to “sharpen their pencils” but not just on price.

“We want them to look at guarantees, at the what ifs,” said Mr Joyce.

“This aircraft is going to be in the fleet for the next 20 years, we want to make sure it’s future-proofed.”

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Asked about negotiations with pilots for a new agreement to fly the routes, Mr Joyce said they had the most to gain from Project Sunrise.

“Growth in the international business brings promotional opportunities, and a promotion is the biggest pay rise they will get in their careers,” Mr Joyce said.

“The current EBA doesn’t contemplate doing missions beyond 20 hours so we need a new agreement.”

Qantas has been studying the effect of ultra-long haul flights on flight crews. Picture: Supplied

Qantas International chief executive Tino La Spina revealed the airline was keen on the idea of “multi-variant” flying – that is, for pilots to operate more than one aircraft type.

“We don’t get anywhere near the 1000-hour (a year) limitation on flying time for pilots but if you had an agreement for an A350 and a pilot could move to an A330 as well, that improves productivity. We need to negotiate those things in,” Mr La Spina said.

“We’re not asking any of our pilots to take a pay cut (but) you might need to be more productive to get the same pay.”

Qantas International CEO Tino La Spina. Picture: AAP

Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David said delivery of new 787-9s, which will be completed next year, had created many opportunities for growth and promotion for pilots.

“Before the deal with the pilots and bringing in of the 787s, we would typically train 200 pilots a year, to cover retirements and natural attrition,” Mr David said.

“Over the course of the last two years, we’ve trained 500, and that’s what Tino is referring to by growth opportunities.”

Mr Joyce said if the business case for the Project Sunrise flights did not stack up, there were other “growth opportunities we could spend that capital on”.

“The management team has no problem saying ‘we gave it a good try’,” Mr Joyce said.

“If we can’t make this business case work, we’ll leverage the Emirates partnership and the American Airlines’ partnership and in some ways that’s lower capital.

“But if this does work, and we can get everyone to pull together, are we going to go for it? Of course. But we will be hard nosed about it.”