Qantas CEO Alan Joyce is spotted on the tarmac with ground staff

On Aug 17, 2022

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has been spotted on a tarmac in a high vis jacket alongside ground staff before the airline asked its senior executives to work as baggage handlers in an internal email earlier this month.

A spokesperson for Qantas told Daily Mail Australia the picture of Joyce is not new, and was taken during a general visit to frontline teams, which the CEO does regularly.

It is understood Joyce was not working as a baggage handler, but was visiting teams on the ground to gather feedback on the airline’s operations.

After the photo was taken, Colin Hughes, the airline’s chief operating officer, wrote to high-level staff saying it was looking for at least 100 managers to work in a variety of airport roles for up to five days a week.

Mr Hughes said there was ‘no expectation that you will opt into this role on top of your full-time position’, but noted it was a necessary action to take as a response to growing criticism of Qantas’ ability to handle passenger demand.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has been spotted on a runway in a high vis vest before the company asked its senior executives to work as baggage handlers. A spokesperson for Qantas told Daily Mail Australia the picture was taken during a general visit to frontline teams, which he does regularly

Joyce can be seen in the photo speaking with members of the frontline team

‘During your time in the contingency program, you’ll be an embedded resource within the ground handling partners,’ Mr Hughes wrote.

‘This means you’ll receive a roster, be scheduled to operate and be supervised and managed in the live operations by our grand handling partners.’

The program would see executives sorting baggage, scanning tags and even driving luggage tugs on the tarmac.

Under the extraordinary plan, managers would be packing planes with people’s belongings and moving cargo between flights.

Qantas has asked senior executives to leave their cushy jobs and work full-time as baggage handlers for up to three months

The program would see executives sorting baggage, scanning tags and even driving luggage tugs on the tarmac

‘It’s our singular company focus to support our teams to get our operation back to where it should be and provide our passengers the experience they expect from the airline,’ wrote Mr Hughes said.

Qantas said the ‘contingency plan’ was in response to not meeting customers’ expectations.

‘We’ve been clear that our operational performance has not been meeting our customers’ expectations or the standards that we expect of ourselves – and that we’ve been pulling out all stops to improve our performance,’ a spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia.

‘As we have done in the past during busy periods, around 200 head office staff have helped at airports during peak travel periods since Easter.

‘While we manage the impacts of a record flu season and ongoing COVID cases coupled with the tightest labour market in decades, we’re continuing that contingency planning across our airport operations for the next three months.’

It’s not known yet if any of Qantas’ highest-paid executives have been asked to lug around customer’s bags – but Qantas confirmed the note was sent to senior executives.

READ THE DESPERATE LETTER QANTAS SENT TO BOSSES DEMANDING THEM TO WORK AS BAGGAGE HANDLERS

Hi everyone,

As hundreds of thousands of travellers have returned to the sky during our restart, many of our managers and executives have supported our airport teams as we ramp up our operations. Thank you to everyone who has stepped up to be involved to date – this support is hugely appreciated, and it’s made a real difference.

We continue to face operational challenges and so we’re calling on at least 100 managers and executives to opt into a short-term arrangement over the next three months.

The current challenge

The high levels of winter flu and a COVID spike across the community, coupled with the ongoing tight labour market, make resourcing a challenge across our industry.

There are a range of strategies to get our performance back to where we and our customers expect it to be. While this includes recruiting thousands of new team members into our operation and ongoing recruitment by our ground handling partners, we need to build more resilience into our operation now.

Establishing a short-term contingency team will help do this.

The role

We are seeking Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from managers and executives to join this phase of the contingency program.

People who respond to the EOI will be trained and rostered into the ramp environment at Sydney and Melbourne airports. These people will support our ground handling partners, who are managing the Qantas operation, over a three-month period from mid-August.

You will be fully trained to safely carry out the functions you are supporting. During your time in the contingency program, you’ll be an embedded resource within the ground handling partners. This means you’ll receive a roster, be scheduled to operate and be supervised and managed in the live operation by our ground handling partners.

Key parts of the role include:

Loading & unloading aircraft:

· sorting and scanning bags ready to be driven to an aircraft

· scanning bags and loading onto belt loader

· moving bags from the belt loader into the aircraft hold

· offloading bags to arrivals belts

Driving a tug:

· taking bags between the bag room and aircraft

· moving bags between International and Domestic airports

Role requirements

· Maintain a strong safety culture – driving WH&S and operational awareness and compliance

· Physically capable of moving and lifting bags of up to 32kg in weight

· You’ll have a current driver’s licence, and

· Be comfortable to work in a team environment alongside experienced colleagues

· Previous experience working in the ramp environment is not required.

The commitment

We know everyone is busy, so we’ve structured this program to offer a range of different options for you to consider, including:

· Three OR five days per week, and either four or six hours a day per shift (with an option to extend at your discretion)

· Morning OR afternoon shifts

· Blocking days of the week that you are not available

· Sydney or Melbourne location (with accommodation provided where it is not your home base)

Given the investment required in training people for the role, we ideally ask for a minimum commitment of at least 12 to 18 hours over three shifts per week, over the three month period.

We’ve briefed our executive leaders on the program, so if you choose to opt in your manager will work with you and discuss how your current role and commitments are managed during this time. To be clear, there is no expectation that you will opt into this role on top of your full-time position.

What’s next?

If you’re interested in registering, we ask that you have a discussion with your manager to consider how you balance your current workload in order to make this commitment. Then, please complete the EOI form by no later than midday Monday 8th August, identifying what commitment you can make.

I’d like to thank you in advance for considering offering your time and stepping outside your normal role to help support our Airports team and, ultimately, our customers.

Once registrations close, we’ll come back to you with all the details around your participation, including training, rosters, induction, uniforms and PPE, red ASICS, etc.

It’s our singular company focus to support our teams to get our operation back to where it should be and provide our passengers the experience they expect from the airline. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to our recovery and considering this request.

Regards Colin

Colin Hughes

COO Qantas Airlines