RichardNixon,Those figures you quote are about as rubbery as a...

RichardNixon,

Those figures you quote are about as rubbery as a Bridgestone tyre. Where did they come from? I have friends that work for both carriers you mentioned other than Qantas and in both cases, they earn more than I do at Qantas. Depends on what job you are describing but even if you are quoting average figures, I find it very hard to believe the Singapore figures as I know roughly the wages paid to Engineers, Pilots and Cabin Crew. There was some lackey named Grace Collier yesterday on 2GB Chris Smith show stating quite categorically that 'old School' Qantas Flight Attendants are getting a base pay of $154,000 and people believe it! Quite frankly, I get sick and tired of people making ' factual' claims of excessively high wages at Qantas. I go back to the old example, Qantas has made billion $$ profits before with the same ( if not larger) workforce in place. So what is different now? Answer is simply - strategy. Qantas has the wrong one on many fronts IMO.

Not sure on the 16% claim on Virgin but I would say in general, Qantas wages would be up compared to Virgin. Qantas like most Australian companies has always had unions to deal with and for the most part, things have gone smoothly with 3 year EBA's (3% pa wage rises) being the average. Not excessive I would think.

Your opinions and choice of carrier will always be that, your opinion and your choice.

Surfrat