Toughen up, tired Jetstar pilots told

An amazingly dangerous attitude. Tiredness greatly reduces alertness and can lead to serious error

A SENIOR Jetstar manager told pilots to "toughen up princesses" after complaints about fatigue on the budget airline's Perth to Singapore route. The instruction was contained in an email admonishing the airline's pilots, tabled in a Senate committee hearing today in which Qantas and Jetstar executives were questioned about safety standards. In it, pilots were told: "Aeroplanes don't make money sitting on the tarmac, they need to keep flying".

The January 7 email opened with the warning: "If you are easily offended then delete this email and read no further. Toughen up princesses! You aren't fatigued, you are tired and can't be bothered going to work."

However the author, a Perth-based pilot manager, admitted that overnight flights on the Perth to Singapore route were a "horror shift". The pilot manager acknowledged in the email that when he flew the shift, he operated below his normal standards.

"By trial and error, I have worked out what works for me so I can manage the shift," he said. "I can say I hate the shift and I definitely don't operate to my normal standard. I am tired throughout the shift, feel terrible, but I would not call it fatigued."

He concludes the email by saying he was not speaking as a base pilot, but "as a pilot who hasn't lost touch with reality and who wants to make this Perth base work".

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the surprise tabling of the email, by South Australian independent Senator Nick Xenophon, made it difficult for management to respond properly to the issues raised about its airline subsidiary. He said it was in the airline's interests to hear safety complaints, but those with information should go through the proper channels.

"That document should be sent to the regulator for the regulator to have a look at it," Mr Joyce said. "That's what should be happening with the process. And we are very happy to cooperate with the regulators - we do - to have a look at these issues when they arise."

Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said there was an incorrect perception the airline pushed its crews to the limit. “Our pilots are working on average, 18 hours flying a week, where you have a compliance maximum of 25 hours a week," he told the Senate's rural affairs and transport committee. “I look at the averages of worked hours across all the bases and I can't see any of them getting close to the limits at the moment."

Senator Xenophon said the email raised serious concerns over safety and the management culture at Jetstar. “Fatigue is a serious issue and can have an impact on the ability for pilots and crews to effectively navigate a plane," he said. "The intimidation in this email is alarming and indicates that there may be a bullying culture among pilots."

But Mr Joyce said he was concerned the email was being taken out of context. "I'm worried about this note that we've got now from a pilot, that this is not a misrepresentation." he said.

Mr Joyce said the Qantas group took a comprehensive approach to fatigue management to ensure pilots were fresh and ready to fly. But he said pilots also had a duty to manage their own levels of tiredness. "It's up to the pilot to identify ... if he's not comfortable and shouldn't be flying. And we rely on that as well as the system," he said.

Jetstar was last year forced to reinstate a whistleblower pilot who was sacked for airing his concerns about falling safety standards. Joe Eakins was fired from the budget airliner in late November after speaking out about a range of cost-cutting measures which he believed compromised safety, including a push towards using foreign-based cabin staff.

He was given his job back and apologised to his employer in an otherwise confidential out-of-court settlement. "I never intended my comments to bring into question the sound and proactive safety culture that exists within Jetstar," Mr Eakins said.

SOURCE