Qantas has begged former cabin crew to return to the skies as demand for international and domestic travel returns to pre-Covid levels. Thousands of staff lost their jobs after the Covid-19 pandemic closed international borders and plunged Australia into lockdown.
Three years on, the Flying Kangaroo is ‘reaching out’ to former staff who either quit or took voluntary redundancy, focusing on luring back its most experienced crew. It comes days after chief executive Alan Joyce declared Qantas was ‘back to its best’ following a tumultuous year for the airline.
A leaked email sent to 2GB breakfast host Ben Fordham sets out the detailed process on how former employees can get their jobs back. The airline’s domestic operations are close to 100 per cent to pre-Covid levels, and its international network is expected to be 80 per cent by the middle of 2023, more than a year after Australia reopened its borders.
Qantas says it’s now recruiting and training more cabin crew than ever, with an additional 1,500 expected to be in the skies by the end of 2023. ‘As you know, the pandemic was extremely challenging for Qantas and the broader aviation industry,’ the email begins.
‘With the change, we’ve made across the airline and the incredible rebound in travel over the last 12 months, the business is back in profit and growing again.’ ‘With our network growing and one new aircraft joining the group every three weeks on average over the next several years, there are new opportunities for our customers and people, the email states.
‘As an experienced former cabin crew member, we are reaching out to you to see if you’re interested in being part of Qantas’ next chapter.’ Former cabin crew will be able to return for a fixed 12 month period or permanently if they prefer.
Training for successful candidates vary and depend on when they last worked for Qantas. Expressions of interest close February 26. The Qantas boss heaped praise on his airline earlier this month, claiming the ‘Spirit of Australia’ had drastically improved its services right across the board.
International crew who were previously worked as customer service manager, supervisor or business and first flight attendant (BFA) would return as BFAs. Domestic crew would return as flight attendants.
The email stipulates former staff will still have to complete a pre-screening questionnaire and undergo an interview process which will include extensive reference, medical and aviation security background checks.
‘Almost half our flights were late, our rate of misplaced bags had more than doubled and we were cancelling up to 7 per cent of our schedule.’ ‘Perception wise, it didn’t help that this came after some controversial restructuring decisions to make sure we survived Covid.’
‘We’ve been the most on-time of the major domestic airlines for five months in a row,’ Mr Joyce wrote in a gushing op-ed. ‘Our service levels – bags, cancellations, catering and the call centre – are back to what customers expect from us. And we’re working to make it better.’
He admitted in his op-ed the airline had come out the other end of a rough time. ‘Six months ago, a lot of people felt we’d let them down and the figures showed why,’ Mr Joyce wrote.
