Qantas flies around strife
Qantas' share price fell to its lowest level in almost two years yesterday as a prolonged and bitter pay dispute continued to hurt the airline. Qantas faces more flight cancellations as the the airline's licensed engineers continue with rolling strikes in response to what they say is an inadequate 3 per cent pay offer from Qantas. The union is holding out for a 5 per cent increase. Qantas's chief executive, Geoff Dixon, has said the airline will accelerate plans to break off its freight, fleet and frequent-flyer businesses as the price of oil shows no sign of decreasing. In an email to staff on Monday, he said the airline's wages policy and its stand against the union "received total support from the Qantas board at its strategic planning meeting last week in New York."
See "Qantas flies around strife", Matthew Murphy, The Sydney Morning Herald, June 23, 2008