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The Qantas pilots’ union has criticised Virgin Australia’s proposed wet-lease arrangement with Qatar Airways as a “sham”.
Speaking to The Australian this week, Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) president Tony Lucas said the deal – which will see Qatar operate flights to Doha under the Virgin Australia banner – is a “workaround of bilateral agreements” and of Australian jobs.
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“I don’t think any of us mind competition, but this seems a good way for Qatar to try to damage the Australian aviation industry for their own purposes, particularly given they’re employing pilots and flight attendants in a very low cost regime in Doha,” he said.
“If you’re thinking about what it means for Australian jobs, it’s four routes – so probably eight aircraft – which means about 280 pilots and 1300 flight attendants that are not being employed in Australia.
“They’re being employed in Qatar so they won’t pay Australian tax and they won’t contribute significantly to the Australian economy.
“The entire thing just feels like a bit of a sham arrangement. The government introduced closing loophole legislation to try to protect the rights of Australian workers and this just seems to be a loophole to get around those protections in favour of a foreign entity.”
Under Australia’s bilateral air service agreements with Qatar, Australian carriers have access to up to 28 flights per week between our four major airports – Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth – and Doha, and vice-versa for Qatari carriers.
Additionally, the agreements allow up to seven extra flights per week to the four major airports “provided such services operate via or beyond to a point in Australia other than Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney”, and unrestricted flights non-stop to airports other than those four.
Qatar Airways was last year controversially denied an extra 21 flights per week into Australia, with Transport Minister Catherine King saying the expansion was “not in the national interest”.
The carrier’s bid for 25 per cent of Virgin, which still needs approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board, as well as its plan to wet-lease planes to Virgin for flights to Doha, could provide a way around the restrictions in the bilateral agreements.
The Australian Federation of Air Pilots (AFAP), which represents most of Virgin’s pilots, has been more circumspect, with executive director Simon Lutton saying the airline should “prioritise Australian crews” with a clear transition plan and a maximum period for wet-leasing.
“AFAP is prepared to collaborate with Virgin Australia to achieve these objectives, ensuring that as the airline expands, it does so with a commitment to Australian talent,” he told The Australian.
“By leveraging the expertise of its loyal workforce, Virgin Australia can enhance its reputation for safety and service while contributing positively to the Australian economy.”
Announcing the Qatar bid earlier this month, Virgin CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said it would strengthen Virgin Australia’s ability to compete, which would “inevitably translate into more choice and even better value airfares for consumers as well as additional Australian aviation jobs”.
“Qatar Airways has been a valued codeshare partner of Virgin Australia since 2022. This investment by the world’s best airline will deepen an already strong partnership by bringing critical scale and the best industry expertise to support our long-term competitiveness and growth,” she said.
“This proposed investment is subject to regulatory approval. We do not take this for granted and have made submissions outlining the benefits of the transaction for Australian aviation, Australian travellers and the Australian economy.”
The AIPA last year similarly criticised a wet-lease deal between Qantas and Finnair that has seen the Finnish carrier operate Qantas services to Singapore and Bangkok.
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says:If any Oz operator had aircraft sitting on the ground unproductively occupied, I could understand the pilots’ union concerns, but the facts are, in particular, Qantas is a minnow in the world of aviation, just have a look at their fleet type and nos. of same as compared with the likes of Qatar and Emirates and our S.E. Asian neighbors too, QF is not in the race. One should cast one’s mind back a few years when the Oz via Mexico to the U.K. route was shed, staff were advised that as time moves on QF would be more of a regional carrier than a world operator and that is precisely where we are today. I do admit that for reasons I don’t understand, QF has missed out on a generation of highly efficient wide body aircraft and are certainly paying the price for that today so Capt. Lucas, I think you have been misinformed on this occasion.