31 January 2019

Canberra contractors out of work as Qantas moves jobs offshore

| Lachlan Roberts
Join the conversation
26

Qantas is moving jobs offshore, leaving 40 Canberra contractors without a job. File photo.

Around 40 Canberra contractors will be left without work after Qantas decided to move heavy maintenance checks and operations for its Boeing 717 fleet offshore.

Qantas has signed a contract with Singapore-based ST Aerospace to do the heavy maintenance work on their fleet of 20 717s, saying the offshore move was more sustainable and would help reduce repair times.

The decision has left 40 aircraft engineers out of work, although the airline will continue day-to-day maintenance on our B717 aircraft in Canberra, which requires 25 engineers at the Canberra hangar.

Qantas established the Canberra facility in 2015 after a five-year agreement between the ACT Government and QantasLink to bring its 717 fleet to Canberra for heavy maintenance.

Heavy maintenance involves stripping the aircraft and life-limited components, including engines, for detailed inspections and servicing. Maintenance is required for each plane every 18 months.

Qantas said ST Aerospace was approved by Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and already did work for Qantas, Jetstar and Qantas Freight. The contract begins in July 2019.

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said the ACT Government will continue conversations with the airline to bring future jobs to Canberra.

“This is disappointing news for the families involved, although we have been advised that the Qantas group will seek to provide employment options to the impacted staff,” he said.

“We will continue to engage with Qantas on future opportunities at Canberra Airport.”

Former Civil Aviation Safety Authority chairman Dick Smith blamed the decision on rising costs.

“Naturally Qantas is going to go places where it is cheapest and where they can make the most profits,” he told 2CC. “Labour rates in Singapore are about the same here so I believe the decision is due to the incredible red tape costs put on by CASA.

“Qantas is going to fly their planes empty to Singapore for their servicing because it is more economical.”

Mr Smith said it was a tough time to be in the Australian aviation industry and expressed his concern about the plummeting numbers of Australian pilots.

“The last figure I saw said pilot training was down by 30 per cent, which means in future many of our pilots will be coming from Singapore, China or India which to me is also a big problem.”

Join the conversation

26
All Comments
  • All Comments
  • Website Comments
LatestOldest
Michael Cleland1:12 am 03 Feb 19

JetStar planes are now the most unreliable things you will fly on. Being a former Ansett worker when I see the way the planes are serviced out of Singapore makes me shake my head. Paint pearling off seats not working properly, even have seen roof lineing held up with tape!!!! You get what you pay for in the end

Capital Retro1:21 pm 01 Feb 19

“And by sustainable, they mean they can pay the overseas workers less, so they sustain their bottom line.”

That’s globalisation at work. Shareholders love it.

Yes and no. 2/3rds of the 20 strong 717 fleet are based in WA. So flying to Singaopre isn’t much more than flying to Canberra.

And also a bit of trivia Virgin Australia used to fly Embraer 170 and 190 aircraft which are a similar size to the 717’s QantasLink operates and these were flown to Portugal for maintenance.

So all really comes down to how much cheaper the labor is to offset the extra fuel to fly empty for maintenance.

And finally it’s heavy maintenance which is only done about every 3 years or so.

Capital Retro5:32 pm 31 Jan 19

Quick And Nasty Try Another Service

I’m not really au fait with the aviation industry but surely flying the planes – empty – to and from Singapore for maintenance would be more costly and result in more wear and tear on the planes than performing the maintenance here. Where are the economies of scale in all this? I would have thought that performing maintenance in the local hangar then taxiing the plane to the nearby runway for the next flight would make a lot more sense and save a lot of money.

Daily Digest

Want the best Canberra news delivered daily? Every day we package the most popular Riotact stories and send them straight to your inbox. Sign-up now for trusted local news that will never be behind a paywall.

By submitting your email address you are agreeing to Region Group's terms and conditions and privacy policy.