QPC Briefing No. 28 2026
EA11 Negotiations Update
Since our last EA11 update on 13 June, the AFAP has met twice with Qantas on your behalf, and some progress has been made.
Importantly, since the No vote, Qantas has acknowledged the need to improve the financial recognition associated with Blank Lines, along with other measures aimed at improving the work-life balance experienced by Blank Line holders.
The AFAP has continued to push for the improvements to EA11 that pilots told us were critical to securing strong majority support for any revised agreement.
Discussions with Qantas have focused on two key areas:
- Improvements to Blank Lines, which was the number one concern identified by pilots in our post-vote survey process; and
- Other changes to align the scale of change and concessions being sought by Qantas with the benefits being delivered to pilots.
Company Meeting – Blank Line Discussions
Blank Line discussions with Qantas have focused on both short-term and long-term solutions.
In the short term, the focus has been on practical measures that can ease the impact of Blank Lines during the life of EA11. In the longer term, discussions have turned to broader structural reform, up to and including a potential redesign of the way Qantas covers flying after roster build.
Achieving practical, measurable and lasting reform that reduces both the prevalence and impact of Blank Lines, without creating unintended consequences for Pattern Line holders or the operation more broadly, requires a collaborative and careful approach. It will require input from all stakeholders, proper testing and, where appropriate, trialling of proposed changes.
This is not something the parties should agree to lightly, nor is it something that can be fully resolved overnight given the scale of reform we would ultimately like to see. At the same time, we are conscious that pilots are understandably eager to see a finalised EA that provides meaningful relief in this area.
While Qantas has indicated it is open to long-term reform, it has also made clear that it is unlikely to agree to significant structural change without any form of trial or testing.
Blank Line Working Group
As part of these discussions, the AFAP has raised the establishment of a Blank Line Working Group as a formal term of the agreement. The objective of the Working Group would be to develop and evaluate alternative rostering, establishment and workforce planning arrangements that reduce the prevalence and impact of Blank Lines. Importantly, the Working Group would also commit to trial proposals that are reasonably capable of meeting those objectives.
Our experienced legal and industrial team has provided Qantas with a suggested clause, informed by industry experience, that would give effect to this Working Group and provide a pathway to implementation.
Financial and Work Life Balance considerations
In the short term, the AFAP is negotiating towards a number of changes that would go some way to meeting the expectations pilots told us were critical to securing support.
The AFAP has proposed expanding the passive credit payment, along with the ability to bid for a number of guaranteed days off within a Blank Line. This would provide pilots with some ability to plan critical days across the 56-day roster period.
Qantas was receptive to financial improvements but suggested that a multi-faceted approach to addressing the financial impact of Blank Lines may be mutually beneficial.
The survey results provided valuable insight into pilot views on potential financial compensation for Blank-Line holders. While there was a range of opinions expressed, the largest cohort of respondents indicated that additional payments equivalent to approximately 20-30 passive hours per bid period would be required before they would consider the impact of a Blank-Line to be adequately recognised. We advised Qantas of these findings and made it clear that any proposal relying on financial compensation as a mechanism to improve the acceptability of Blank-Lines would need to be of a scale broadly consistent with this feedback if it were to have a realistic prospect of securing pilot support.
While Qantas understands the desire for pilots to have guaranteed days off, it also raised concerns that inviolable days off may affect coverage on preceding days, require an increased number of pilots on Blank Lines to cover the same flying, or may result in greater disruption to Pattern Line holders.
While we acknowledge this risk, we have also made the point that a 56-day roster period with no guaranteed days off is not consistent with what pilots would reasonably expect at comparable airlines around the world.
We believe there is a pathway to introducing guaranteed days off in Blank-Lines that would not result in PLH disruption or increased BLH coverage. The key to guaranteed days off is being in control of your life for a handful of days in the roster. We continue to explore this with the Company and challenge assumptions.
Contactability
The Company also raised a number of potential changes to Blank Line A-day contactability arrangements as part of the broader discussions regarding Blank Line reform. These included concepts aimed at providing pilots with longer lead-in notification time while also offering increased coverage for the Company.
These discussions remain at an early stage and should not be interpreted as indicating support for any particular proposal by either party.
The AFAP’s approach to all proposed reforms is to carefully assess both the intended outcomes and any potential unintended consequences before forming a position. While there is a clear need to address the impact of Blank Lines, changes to contactability arrangements can have broader implications and must be approached cautiously.
It is our view that the mechanisms presented so far would need to be on an ‘opt-in’ basis to warrant further exploration. We will however, continue to evaluate all proposals against the objective of delivering meaningful improvements for pilots while protecting existing conditions and safeguards.
Joint Union Blank Line Working Group
Separately, the AFAP and AIPA have formally established a joint Blank Line Working Group. The Group has now met twice.
The aim of the Group is to develop a shared union position on potential trials, explore long-term redesign options, define what genuine improvement looks like for all pilots, and agree on appropriate clauses in the EA to give formal effect and recognition to the Working Group.
There is currently no ask of members. However, we expect that member input will be required as this work develops, and we will report back as progress is made.
Company Meeting – Revised EA11 Package
The AFAP bargaining team met with Qantas again yesterday to continue discussions on a revised EA11 package.
The Company provided a high-level response to the detailed concepts and proposals previously presented by the AFAP. Those concepts were derived directly from pilot feedback and were put forward as a practical pathway to securing majority pilot support without requiring a return to expansive bargaining or the development of a lengthy new log of claims.
The AFAP’s proposal included reducing the number of concessions and modifying aspects of the proposed remuneration structure, consistent with the key themes emerging from the post-vote survey results.
The Company also provided a high-level overview of a formal proposal it intends to put forward to the AFAP, subject to approval and sign-off from the Group Leadership Team. This included a revised and simplified pay structure that appears to significantly reduce the scope of the pay-related changes proposed in the failed EA11.
At this stage, however, the proposal remains incomplete and a number of key details have not yet been finalised. As a result, we have not yet been provided with the detailed remuneration outcomes associated with the proposal.
Importantly, at face value, the revised position appears to address a number of the key concerns pilots identified through the post-vote surveys, particularly in relation to the scale and complexity of the changes proposed in the failed agreement. While this is an encouraging development and provides some basis for optimism, it remains necessary to carefully assess the detail before drawing conclusions.
We have identified a number of areas that warrant further discussion and negotiation and will continue engaging with Qantas on these matters over the coming weeks.
We expect to receive further information from the Company this week and anticipate being in a position to provide members with a more detailed assessment of the Company’s latest position in our next briefing.
Conclusion
We look forward to seeing the detail of the company’s position before the end of the week and this will form the basis of further negotiations in the coming weeks.
We will continue to keep members updated as talks progress with both Qantas and AIPA. There is still a lot to negotiate, but pilots have already forced real movement. The AFAP will continue to push the Company based on the clear feedback you have provided throughout this process.
Questions and Feedback
If you have any questions or further feedback, please contact your AFAP Qantas Pilot Council representatives at qpc@afap.org.au, or the AFAP Legal and Industrial team:
Executive Director Simon Lutton – simon@afap.org.au
Senior Legal/Industrial Officer Patrick Larkins – patrick@afap.org.au
Senior Legal/Industrial Officer Deanna Cain – deanna@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
Rob Gilmour – Committee Member