QANTAS STATEMENT ON UNION CLAIMS

CANBERRA, 17 August 2011: Qantas today responded to misleading claims made by a number of
unions about its new international strategy, announced yesterday.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said accusations that Qantas was outsourcing and offshoring jobs, and devaluing the Qantas brand, were completely incorrect.

“Qantas is one of the biggest employers in Australia,” Mr Joyce said.

“We employ over 35,000 people and have employees in every state and territory nationwide.

“Of the 1000 positions that will be made redundant, not a single job will be lost as a result of Qantas’ plans to invest in a new premium airline in Asia.

“Some of the numbers being quoted today by union leaders – of between 5,000 and 10,000 jobs affected – are completely unfounded.

“Qantas will always be owned by Australians and have the majority of its operations and employees based here. Qantas is the only major airline in the world to do heavy maintenance on aircraft in Australia. None of our competitors does any heavy maintenance in this country.

“The new strategy we announced for Qantas International yesterday is about ensuring that Qantas as a whole is competitive and sustainable for the next 10 years and beyond.

“Trade unions need to explain why they continue to trash the Qantas brand and are opposed to changes which will protect the long-term jobs of the majority of their members.

“We remain prepared to discuss reasonable employment agreements and conditions for all our employees and urge unions to return to the negotiating table.”