Karl Stefanovic confronts Alan Joyce about the rising cost of Qantas flights
Qantas boss Alan Joyce has explained why airline ticket prices are rising after confronting Karl Stefanovic on live TV.
Joyce appeared on Today on Friday morning to proclaim his company’s recent financial turnaround as he faced the rising cost of flying.
It was revealed on Thursday that Qantas is expected to post huge pre-tax profits of between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion as more Australians use the airline to go to vacation destinations after the pandemic.
Stefanovic asked: ‘When will we see prices drop a little bit for people who want to see their family?’
Qantas is expected to make huge profits of between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion before tax as more Australians use the airline to go to vacation destinations after the pandemic
“Well, yesterday we also announced a 1 million seat sale. So there are still a lot of cheap airline tickets. It’s $35 on Jetstar, to Melbourne.’ said Mr Joyce.
“We have a million chairs for sale. If you look at the value, even though oil prices have gone up and airfares have to go up a bit to cover that, Karl, the 800km between Melbourne and Sydney will only cost $35′.
“If you took an Uber from Mascot to the city, 5 miles, it would be more expensive and we’ll carry you 100 times the distance.”
“What Karl’s real question is is when his first-class flight to LA will drop in price? asked host Allison Langdon.
“Well, Ally, that’s a good question. They have become very expensive there. The premium seats are just… I don’t think there will be an additional premium seat on Qantas in the coming months. It’s the same with just about any other airline,” he said.
“It’s going to take a while because those long hall planes have been in storage for a long time and it takes a lot of maintenance and training to get them up and running again.”
Joyce said they will only have 69 percent of their international fleet at capacity in the next year, which is why airline tickets are so expensive right now.
His comments come as 1,500 workers will still be laying down their jobs as part of industrial action despite receiving $10,000 in bonuses as a result of the skyrocketing stock price.
When asked if the bonuses would stop the strikes, Mr Joyce said: ‘Yes, I believe so. I don’t think you should be confused with what you hear from some angry union leaders.’
Qantas boss Alan Joyce claims airline has been unfairly targeted by unions as it records record profits for post-pandemic travel
The Qantas CEO said the dispute was over the extension of regular working hours.
Under the new model, cabin crew would operate 12-hour extended shifts instead of the standard nine hours and 45 minutes. They can also work for up to 14 hours if there is a ‘malfunction’ with the airline.
Breaks between shifts have been reduced to 10 hours if an outage occurs and no other staff are available.
Joyce said the staff will be paid between 200 and 300 percent of their regular wages for the extra two hours.
“You know, we take care of our people.”
He explained that the company nearly went bankrupt and lost $7 billion during the pandemic.
‘I doubt there’s anyone in Nine’ [where Karl Stefanovic works] that’s a $10,000 bonus coming out of something like that and a 3 percent salary increase going forward.
“We share the benefit of the company’s turnaround.”
Employees will receive $10,000 in bonuses as a result of skyrocketing stock price, but 1,500 employees will resign as part of union action
However, the Flight Attendants Association of Australia disagrees, confirming that the 1,500 employees are ready to resign.
“We are talking about deals that extend conscription while reducing rest facilities, while not even guaranteeing work on the new (A321neo) aircraft,” FAAA National Secretary Teri O’Toole told The Australian.
She claimed the staff had “raised concerns” that the “outrageous” deal would lead to widespread fatigue, as the crew had already been stripped to the bone due to a labor shortage.
“Employees are already exhausted trying to keep up with demand for a limited workforce following cuts in the number of crew members per flight (from five to four) and an over-enthusiastic severance package to cull workers and cut costs.”
Ms O’Toole said the deal would not be good news for both crew and passengers as the fallout from the agreement would cause further chaos at airports if staff decided to take sick leave due to fatigue.