JETSTAR Pilot Federation

Following the pilot group voting up a new Jetstar Enterprise Agreement (EA) late-2022, the AFAP JPF Committee has this year focused its attention on ensuring that the new conditions and provisions in the EA have been properly implemented by Jetstar.

Despite some initial issues, Jetstar pilots are now able to able enjoy some of the conditions/privileges that Qantas Group pilots have had access to for many years including Qantas Lounge access, better seat allocation on duty travel (extra legroom seat (LegX) where available (and where business class is not available)) and a full time and part time (flexi line) carer’s line type arrangement which provides carers with fixed days off and the option to preference limited overnights.

Under the new EA Jetstar pilots are also now financially compensated for extensions into a rostered day off as a result of a misconnection, instead of being allocated an unusable Day in Lieu (DIL), addressing a major issue under the previous EA. From 1 July another financial benefit, layover highline, will be introduced and be paid to pilots from sign off at an outport to sign on at an outport, thus putting a cost on a pilot's time away from home.

The Pilot Consultative Committee (PCC), is a new consultative representative body of five AFAP pilot representatives - captains Chris Gibson, Dom Corcoran, Daniel Blakemore, Darren Fielder and Paul Hogan - and two AIPA representatives that has been meeting with Jetstar representatives quarterly as required by the EA.

A main focus for the PCC are hotels standards and meals, as well as any matters to do with the Qantas/ Jetstar MOU. The level of engagement by Jetstar with the PCC has so far been pleasing. The PCC will also be involved in the consultation process regarding the allocation of pilots to the new Western Sydney Airport base, noting that Jetstar has recently announced its plan to operate out of Western Sydney International Airport (WSI) from day one, when it opens in late 2026.

PCC meetings have been followed by meetings between AFAP representatives and Jetstar representatives to discuss matters outside the remit of the PCC under the EA terms of the EA. These meetings have provided an opportunity for the AFAP to have meaningful input, be kept informed and to resolve issues in a much more pragmatic manner. Of course this is not to say that we will always be able reach a resolution with Jetstar, but we believe that having an open and constructive dialogue with the company is far more beneficial to our Jetstar members than being acrimonious.

Jbid Bidding System

While the new EA has seen many financial improvements, lifestyle has been worse as a result of the relatively new JBid bidding system. Jetstar's JBid survey conducted this year confirmed the level of dissatisfaction amongst pilots and Jetstar has now allocated resources into updating and simplifying the JBid system to drive better bidding outcomes.

While it is still too early to tell whether these changes have resulted in any improvements to pilots bid outcomes and rosters, the message has clearly been received that roster outcomes pilots have been experiencing under JBid are not sustainable for pilots, or the business given the significant impact it is having on pilot engagement and the stability of Jetstar’s operation.

Trial FRMS

Owing largely to a lack of collaboration by Jetstar in relation to its Trial FRMS, over the last six months, AFAP Safety & Technical has been collecting and collating fatigue reports (OSCARS) from Jetstar pilots to identify trends and reveal rostering areas with issues. This independent data project is advanced and the AFAP has a live link to a data graph available to Jetstar members that aligns generally with data already collected through existing fatigue industry studies by academics.

The AFAP has also sent dedicated FRMS updates to educate members on FRMS matters and reiterate the importance of fatigue reporting (OSCARS) in order to drive change as part of a dynamic data driven FRMS.

AFAP S&T has been supporting and advising members who have had their OSCAR fatigue report arbitrarily assessed by Jetstar as "personal” rather than workrelated fatigue and having this assessment reviewed by a Qantas Group Fatigue Specialist.

The AFAP will run a fatigue management survey for Jetstar pilots and wrote to Jetstar management to invite the company to collaborate in the survey construction. However, the company continues to ignore our attempts to collaborate on FRMS matters.

The AFAP is confident that this proactive hazard identification initiative will provide a dataset with insights into fatigue hotspots at Jetstar and provide an opportunity for Jetstar management to enliven a learning culture with continuous improvement in fatigue safety outcomes.