Pilots union shifts stance to stand beside Qantas
The announcement of Virgin Australia’s $350 million foreign capital injection has prompted the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA) to join Qantas in calling for amendments to the Qantas Sale Act.
The union, which has previously had a tumultuous relationship with the Flying Kangaroo on this issue among others, gave its support to the Qantas' call to change the contentious legislative bill on the condition that any new foreign investment streams are directed into Australia and not into “unproven overseas ventures”.
"The current Australian aviation environment has evolved rapidly and AIPA recognises that this necessitates a shift in position. Therefore AIPA is now willing to support amending the Qantas Sale Act (QSA)," AIPA president Nathan Safe said.
"The problem we have at the moment is an un-level playing field – Virgin is free to access foreign investment channels that Qantas cannot due to the restrictions of the QSA. It is therefore clear that the only viable policy approach is for the QSA to be reviewed.”
Safe stressed that any amendments to the QSA must ensure that the Australia aviation industry is not disadvantaged by foreign competitors, with any advantages gained through its amendment to “flow straight to Qantas’ Australian operations”.
“Under such changes, new streams of foreign investment could not be used on the sort of unproven forays into Asia that we have seen Qantas Group pursue through Jetstar and other subsidiaries in recent years,” he insisted.
The specific ownerships restrictions of the QSA have become “unsuited” to the modern environment, he admitted, although he swiftly added that the underlying purpose of the act remains as relevant as ever.
"So if Qantas management is truly seeking changes to the QSA in order to support its local operations, the local economy, and local jobs, then there is no reason that such a caveat should present a problem,” Safe said.
Amendments to the QSA may constitute only one part of an overall solution required to deliver a level playing field, according to Safe, but in the meantime he declared that the AIPA will petition the Federal Government for legislative change.
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