Tired Jetstar pilots told to 'toughen up princesses'

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This was published 12 years ago

Tired Jetstar pilots told to 'toughen up princesses'

By Andrew Heasley
'Toughen up princesses!' ... The email sent to pilots.

'Toughen up princesses!' ... The email sent to pilots.

An scathing internal Jetstar email told pilots complaining about fatigue from long shifts to "toughen up princesses", a Senate inquiry heard today.

Senator Nick Xenophon said the email was written by a pilot managing rostering in Jetstar's Perth base.

"You aren't fatigued, you are tired and can't be bothered going to work" the email said.

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The email, which dismissed pilot complaints about Jetstar's flying rosters from Perth on the Denpasar-Singapore-Perth-Melbourne-Perth route, surprised Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce and Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan when they received a copy of it from Senator Nick Xenophon, who introduced it to the Senate's inquiry into pilot safety during questioning over pilot fatigue.

Mr Joyce and Mr Buchanan had just told the inquiry that the airlines had open channels, internally and external to the airlines, for staff to make reports about safety issues and had multiple-layered systems to manage the risk of pilot fatigue when Senator Xenophon introduced the email.

"No, I've never seen this email before," Mr Buchanan said.

When shown the email, Mr Joyce warned the inquiry might become a "warehouse" for accusations against the airlines.

"There's a potential here for a warehouse of information and accusations and material to be compiled and accumulated against the airlines," Mr Joyce said. "There is a process we do go through — it's in our interest to know about these things.

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"The fact that people are holding them back and there's plenty of processes and procedures ... for these to be reported ... it's very hard for the management here that has just received, to be given notes, on the spur of the moment, when these things can go through a proper investigation," Mr Joyce said.

"If someone has done something wrong ... that will be dealt with, that will be stopped, and we'll make sure that doesn't happen again."

The author of the email wrote in response to a complaint about the long flying hours: "If you became an airline pilot thinking that you will be home every night and not have to fly through the night, then that is pretty naive."

The author — who Senator Xenophon identifies as a Jetstar "Base Pilot" who had responsibility for managing the roster at the airline's Perth base — admits tiredness from night shifts has affected their own flying.

"I can say I hate the shift and I definitely don't operate to to my normal standard. I am tired throughout the shift, feel terrible, but I would not call it fatigued," the base pilot wrote.

Jetstar said after the hearing this afternoon that the author was not a senior manager, but a captain for the airline.

The author said if they were running the airline, "and a bunch of pilots, who have a lot of days off ... started to call in 'fatigued' and didn't want those days to come out of personal leave ... I would not hesitate in closing the base".

"Be careful what you wish for," the author warns.

After inquiry proceedings closed, Senator Xenophon warned Jetstar might have an internal problem of bullying and intimidation.

"The potential intimidation in this email is alarming and indicates there may be a bullying culture among pilots," Senator Xenophon said. "Do pilots feel they can't speak out to management?"

"Fatigue is a serious issue and can have an impact on the ability for pilots and crews to safely fly a plane," he said.

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