Thousands of years’ experience flies off
More than 1100 Qantas cabin crew have farewelled the airline in emotional scenes around the country.
More than 1100 Qantas cabin crew representing thousands of years of experience have handed in their uniforms as the airline downsizes in the lingering COVID crisis.
The huge number includes 800 long haul flight attendants, and close to 400 domestic crew members, many of whom had worked for Qantas for 25 years or more.
Although all cabin crew volunteered for redundancy, Flight Attendants Association of Australia secretary Teri O’Toole said many were devastated to be leaving a job they loved. “The nature of the job is quite unlike any other. It’s more than a career, it’s a lifestyle,” she said.
“Flight attendants miss milestones, deaths of parents, children walking for the first time because they’re away in foreign countries so it really does have this enormous impact on your personal life. There’s no way of separating work and home.”
She said those leaving Qantas and Jetstar included husbands and wives who met on the job, and people aged in their 50s and 60s who had worked for the airline their whole career.
Emotional farewell events were being held around the country, including a gathering of about 300 people at The Rocks in Sydney on Monday.
In Melbourne, a cake featuring a flying kangaroo shedding tears, summed up the sentiment.
“For most people who make the choice to leave a company, they get to say goodbye to their colleagues but COVID has meant they’re unceremoniously dropping their uniforms into a drop-off area and that’s it, after 35 years of doing a job,” Ms O’Toole said.
Qantas executive manager of customer experience Rachel Yangoyan said it was heartbreaking for everyone at Qantas to see so many people have to leave the business through no fault of their own. “Our cabin crew have given their all, often making personal sacrifices, to keep our customers safe and comfortable,” she said.
“We are confident the skills and experience they have gained working with Qantas will put them in good stead wherever they work next.”
Last week, Qantas announced a $1.47bn statutory loss for the first half of the 2021 financial year, after seeing revenue plunge by $7bn because of state border closures and the Victorian lockdown.
To date, the airline has axed 8500 positions, and mothballed its fleet of A380 aircraft in the California desert.
Ms O’Toole said as sad as it was for those leaving Qantas, a lot of uncertainty existed for those still employed. “We feel very much in the dark about what’s going on. We only found out in the media that Qantas expects to resume international flights in October,” she said.
“There’s a lot of questions to be answered about that, and the COVID vaccine. Will everyone be made to have vaccines for instance? There’s a lot of concern about that, a lot of concern.”
Pay and conditions could also come under pressure as the FAAA heads to the Fair Work Commission to negotiate a deal for Virgin Australia members.
Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has previously said he would expect any concessions made by unions for members at rival airlines to be matched.
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