Australia’s Qantas says rolling engineer strikes not expected to disrupt flights

(Reuters) – Australia’s Qantas Airways said rolling aircraft maintenance engineer strikes that began on Thursday in Melbourne and are set to continue for two weeks across the country are not expected to disrupt flights.

“We’re putting contingencies in place and don’t currently expect this industrial action to have an impact on customers,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

The Qantas Engineers’ Alliance, made up of several unions, said on Thursday it wants a 5% annual pay rise and a 15% first-year payment “to make up for 3.5 years of wage freezes”.

The alliance said the industrial action was likely to affect Qantas flights in all major locations. It did not respond immediately to a request for further comment.

Australia’s flag carrier has been trying to fix its reputation following a series of controversies regarding travel bookings and employee treatment that alienated travellers, employees and shareholders in the COVID-19 era and beyond.

About 1,100 employees out of 2,500 engineers across Qantas are covered by the enterprise agreements under discussion that expired at the end of June 2024, Qantas said.

The airline said it had made progress on a number of items with unions.

“We want to reach an agreement that includes pay rises and ensures we have a sustainable business,” the spokesperson said.

Qantas in August reported an annual underlying pre-tax profit of A$2.08 billion ($1.41 billion), down 16% from the prior year.

On the day of its results it announced an in-principle agreement on pay increases for around 2,500 international cabin crew and agreed to three applications by the flight attendants’ union to raise pay for up to 800 short-haul staff.