It’s been suggested by The National that the first major job losses at Qantas in 40 years are being perceived as a hiring opportunity for pilot-hungry Gulf carriers.
Qantas, a codeshare partner of Emirates Airline, said it would cut about 5,000 jobs in February, and is now seeking voluntary redundancies among pilots. It comes at a time when Gulf carriers including Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways are in rapid expansion mode.
A Qantas spokesman told AFP it was not placing an exact number on the redundancies until the application process was complete, but reports said up to 100 positions, or just under 20 per cent of the 550 pilots for its Boeing 747 and 767 fleets, were targeted.
Qantas has about 2,000 pilots on its books.
