Qantas Airways’ Project Sunrise, its long-cherished ambition to fly non-stop from Sydney to London and New York, has run into a snag with the airline’s pilots over staffing levels.
Because the flights would involve 24-hour duty cycles, more crew than usual would be required; the dispute is over how many fully-qualified pilots and first officers should be aboard and how many second officers. The pilots and first officers are licensed to fly all aspects of the flight; second officers are not licensed for take-off or landing.
The airline, which only recently made its decision on a plane for the routes, a specially-modified ultra-long-range A350, would like to keep its costs low by limiting the number of fully-licensed pilots. The pilots’ union objects. The airline has said an agreement must come soon, or it will create a non-union subsidiary to operate the flights.
