Qantas

Qantas' new CEO apologises for airline's recent scandals

Vanessa Hudson took over the top job earlier this month after former CEO Alan Joyce stood down following 15 years as one of the country's highest-paid executives.

In a video message released on Friday, Hudson apologised to customers for the airline's recent performance.

"I know that we have let you down in many ways and for that, I am sorry," she said.

"We haven't delivered the way we should have. And we've often been hard to deal with.

"We understand why you're frustrated and why some of you have lost trust in us."

Qantas illegally fired 1,700 workers at start of pandemic, court rules

The court unanimously upheld that the carrier had unlawfully laid off staff at 10 airports in 2020.

The ruling found that Qantas breached Australia's Fair Work Act, which protects employee rights.

Qantas said the outsourcing was a necessary financial measure.

The airline has faced public outrage in recent weeks, after reaping record profits despite a series of scandals related to its actions throughout the pandemic.

Qantas asks executives to work as baggage handlers for three months

The firm's head of operations is looking for at least 100 volunteers to work at Sydney and Melbourne airports.

Tasks include loading and unloading bags as well as driving vehicles to move luggage around airports.

Like much of the global airline industry, Qantas is struggling to resume its services as borders reopen.

Qantas resumes flights to New Caledonia

The first flight at the weekend came from Brisbane which is a popular destination for Noumea residents.

Qantas is also restarting flights from Sydney to Noumea, where passengers need to take a Covid-19 test two days after arrival.

Aircalin, which is New Caledonia's international carrier, had restarted flights to Australia in February and to New Zealand in May.

Qantas has been flying to New Caledonia for 80 years.

     

Qantas charged in row over Covid cleaning risks

A cleaner was told to stop working after he opposed cleaning practices on aircraft arriving from China.

Watchdog SafeWork NSW accused Qantas of discriminatory conduct for stopping the pay of a worker who raised concerns about exposure of employees to Covid.

However, Qantas said the cleaner was being investigated for "attempting to incite unprotected industrial action".

A union called the prosecution a "landmark for work health and safety".

Safety issues

Australia's Qantas says all staff must be vaccinated

Frontline workers including pilots, cabin crew and airport staff must be fully vaccinated by mid-November.

The company says its remaining employees have until the end of March next year to receive both doses.

It comes as the state of New South Wales reported its biggest daily rise in coronavirus infections.

The Australian flag carrier is the country's biggest, most high-profile company to introduce a mandatory vaccination policy.

Qantas stands down 2,500 staff over Sydney lockdown

The furlough - affecting pilots, crew and airport workers - will last for at least two months, the airline said.

Qantas said it would pay staff until mid-August, after which they could apply for government support payments.

Since June, fresh Covid outbreaks have forced most Australian states to reimpose restrictions.

The highly contagious Delta variant has forced lockdowns in several cities and some state border closures.

The situation is most severe in Sydney. It is seeing about 200 new infections each day, despite being in lockdown since 26 June.

Up to 150 Qantas employees part of gang infiltration at airline

The Nine newspapers and 60 Minutes reported the allegations based on a classified intelligence operation.

The reports said agencies believe organised crime groups had infiltrated Qantas to facilitate illegal activities.

In a statement Qantas said authorities had not raised any concerns.

The BBC approached Australian authorities for comment on the report.

Qantas accelerates cost cuts as $1.5bn loss looms

The Australian carrier also said it would report an annual loss before tax of more than $1.5bn (A$2bn, £1.1bn).

But it added that its debt pile had peaked and was likely to fall as domestic travel was on track to hit pre-pandemic levels.

Qantas said its international division was losing about $2.3m a week, down from $3.9m last month.

Its latest cost-cutting plans include a two-year wage freeze, slashing travel agents' commissions for international flights and offering voluntary redundancies to cabin crew in its international business.

Qantas boss: Governments 'to insist' on vaccines for flying

Coronavirus vaccines are seen as crucial to reviving an industry that saw worldwide passenger numbers fall 75.6% last year.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said many governments were talking about vaccination as "a condition of entry".

Even if they weren't, he thought the airline should enforce its own policy.

"We have a duty of care to our passengers and to our crew, to say that everybody in that aircraft needs to be safe," Mr Joyce said.

He believes that would justify changing the terms and conditions on which tickets are booked.