QPC Briefing No 22 2025 – LH EA Update
Qantas’ Reserve Seniority Claim
The AFAP provide the following update to outline the QPC’s concerns regarding the significant career and industrial risks Qantas’ reserve seniority claim creates and provide a clear rationale for our position.
We also are compelled to correct the record after the Qantas communications regarding reserve seniority omitted critical information and included misleading information.
We want to ensure that members understand the full detail of Qantas’ proposal as it stands, the risks involved for mainline pilots and the inequity of a change to a seniority list that also belongs to SH pilots but excludes them from either having a say or receiving a benefit. We provide further detail below.
What Qantas is Proposing
- Qantas wants the ability to allocate “reserved” Long Haul seniority numbers to Group pilots who have passed mainline recruitment and are on the hold file. Access to the hold file and reserve seniority date would be at management’s discretion; and
- A reserved seniority date would not guarantee a start date with mainline, or any bidding rights into Short Haul or Long Haul roles. Qantas would allocate courses at its discretion to Hold File pilots (including to non-Group pilots without a reserved seniority date) and is under no obligation to ever offer a reserved seniority pilot a position.
At face value, this is being presented by Qantas to deliver a financial uplift to LH pilots for a change that has no apparent impact on existing pilots.
While Qantas has described this as a “fairness issue”, in practice, however, Qantas would control when and where reserved numbers are issued, and then who progressed to mainline. Without limitations, it has significant long-term implications for both Long Haul and Short Haul pilots careers.
Key Concerns
1. Company Discretion & Strategic Use
The structure of the proposed claim allows:
- Recruitment leverage for subsidiaries - Qantas can use mainline seniority as a retention and recruitment lever for subsidiaries, especially for critical roles (Captains, Training Pilots) or particular subsidiary operations, rather than as a fair, transparent pathway for all.
- Undermining Subsidiary Bargaining Leverage - subsidiary pilot shortages create natural bargaining leverage to improve pay and conditions. Targeted use of reserve seniority allows for Qantas to bypass that pressure by offering a “mainline carrot” to suppress subsidiary terms and conditions.
- Return of service obligations - Pilots could be compelled to complete years of flying in subsidiaries as a condition of accessing the seniority “reserved” in Long Haul. This would effectively allow mainline seniority to be used to consolidate management control over subsidiary pilot’s career progression.
The strategic and wide-spread use of this mechanism would enable subsidiaries to recruit pilots at scale, aiding the cannibalisation of mainline flying, directly impacting mainline pilot career progression.
2. Lack of Voice for Short Haul Pilots
Another serious flaw is that this claim would directly impact Short Haul pilots without their consent:
- Short Haul pilots are part of one unified mainline seniority list, yet this proposal would change how that list operates without their input or consent.
- Allowing such a significant structural change to be negotiated solely within the Long Haul EA undermines democratic representation for all mainline pilots.
- This sets a dangerous precedent where major decisions impacting every pilot can be made in a single bargaining context, fragmenting mainline unity.
As pilots may recall, a variation to a closed SH EA was put forward by Qantas in 2020 when it was in the businesses’ interest. Qantas notably used the threat of outsourcing pilot jobs on A320 aircraft to another operator to secure the removal of the geographic limits on SH flying permanently changing the nature of this operation.
It would be reasonable to assume the if Qantas is concerned with “fairness”, that it would allow SH pilots to be offered a vote (and the same uplift benefits as LH pilots) to decide if they want to change their seniority list. To this point Qantas has not proposed SH pilots be included in the discussion.
3. Risk to Redundancy & RIN Protections
Another concern is the potential impact on transparency and fairness during both redundancy and RIN processes. At present, the principle of “last on, first off” is widely understood as the accepted standard for redundancy. Introducing multiple seniority streams would inevitably complicate this process, creating scope for inconsistent interpretations and outcomes. Pilots could face further uncertainty about how their seniority is recognised in the event of a reduction in numbers (RIN).
4. Integrity of the Seniority System
Multiple seniority streams create ambiguity and inequity, weakening the protection seniority is meant to provide. Career progression becomes less predictable and can be influenced by management discretion rather than objective seniority order.
Background - Integration Award and Single Seniority
The Integration Award was introduced when Qantas and Australian Airlines merged in 1992.
Its primary purpose was to unify the pilot workforce, protect existing seniority positions, and create a single list that governed career progression, redundancy, and reduction-in-numbers (RIN) processes.
The Award created a clear end-state: once pre-merger pilots retired, there would be one seniority list for all mainline pilots - ensuring fairness, stability, and clarity.
Qantas’ reserve seniority claim seeks to reintroduce division by creating a separate seniority stream under the Long Haul EA, effectively reversing the Y list created through the integration award.
The lesson from history is clear: separate lists undermine careers and unity. The Y-list was deliberately created to unify pilots into one integrated workforce. Qantas’ current claim effectively reverses this, at a time when unity across Long Haul and Short Haul is more important than ever.
5. A Track Record of Broken Assurances
Qantas has repeatedly assured pilots of its honourable intentions when pursuing changes and addressing concerns, only for those promises to be abandoned a short time later. This history should inform how we treat the current “reserved seniority” proposal.
Examples include:
- Network Aviation: Pilots were told Network would operate only 2–5 end-of-life A320 aircraft on FIFO routes. Instead, Network now operates a large A320 fleet conducting RPT services, well beyond the narrow FIFO scope originally promised.
- Jetstar growth: Pilots were assured that no mainline routes would be impacted by Jetstar. In reality, Jetstar quickly expanded into profitable leisure and short-haul markets that were once the domain of mainline flying, directly eroding career progression opportunities.
- Subsidiary creep: At multiple points, management has claimed subsidiary expansion was limited or capped, only for further growth to follow. Each time, this has shifted flying away from mainline and slowed promotions for those on the unified list.
It is also worth noting that Qantas has previously rejected efforts to create a group opportunity list that would bring benefits to pilots across the group.
Summary
Qantas has presented this claim as a “people issue” and about “fairness” and “equity”. These buzzwords are meaningless without legally enforceable protections around its proposed change. Despite the AFAP outlining in detail the issues LH pilots will have with this claim and the inherent risks above, Qantas has not addressed any of these legitimate concerns.
Qantas’ refusal to add guardrails that would remove its ability to manipulate the system to allocate reserve seniority to targeted QF pilot groups and promote subsidiary growth undermines its claims this is an equitable and fair system for all Group pilots and that it will have no impact on current mainline pilots.
Further, Qantas’ claim does not allow SH pilots who are directly impacted to have a vote or reap any benefits. This again contradicts Qantas’ assertions its proposal is fair.
We also remind LH pilots that this proposal is part of a package of significant reforms proposed by Qantas and reserve seniority itself provides marginal financial uplift for Long Haul pilots. Further, Qantas has to this point refused to balance the proposed package by meaningfully addressing LH pilots’ critical claims.
QPC Position
Due to the concerns above, the QPC does not support the Reserve Seniority claim as proposed. Our position is based on preserving:
- A unified seniority list across mainline.
- Fair, transparent career progression for all pilots.
- Bargaining leverage for all group pilots driven by market conditions.
- Certainty in redundancy and RIN outcomes.
- A democratic voice for all mainline pilots in decisions affecting their careers.
The QPC will always engage in good faith in these matters, but a group-wide fair solution that involves all stakeholders cannot be rushed into this LH EA at the tail end of bargaining. It requires proper consultation and the input of all Qantas mainline pilots.
For these reasons, we advised Qantas that negotiations must remain focused on a package capable of achieving LH pilots’ support. The proposal on reserve seniority moves us further from that outcome, yet Qantas has since indicated this is a threshold item.
We are concerned that this approach represents a continuation of Joyce era hostile IR tactics that will unnecessarily drive conflict with LH pilots. This risk is amplified when reserve seniority is coupled with a suite of other significant changes that overwhelmingly advantage the business.
We will ensure LH pilots receive all relevant information if Qantas again omit key information from its communications. The AFAP meet with Qantas next week and will update further following this meeting.
Questions and Feedback
If you have any questions or feedback please contact your AFAP Qantas Pilot Council representatives at qpc@afap.org.au, or the AFAP legal and industrial team of Senior Legal/ Industrial Officer Pat Larkins (patrick@afap.org.au), Senior Industrial Officer Deanna Cain (deanna@afap.org.au) or Executive Director Simon Lutton (simon@afap.org.au).
Regards,
AFAP Qantas Pilot Council
Michael Egan – Chair
Mark Gilmour – Vice-Chair
Rob Close – Secretary
Michael Armessen – Committee Member
David LaPorte – Committee Member
Josh Chalmers – Committee Member