QANTAS, a brand synonymous with Australia, has weathered some serious turbulence in recent years.
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The iconic airline has lurched from one crisis to another: the global shutdown of operations during an industrial dispute, thousands of job losses, a colossal downgrade of its credit rating and, most recently, the doozy of all operating losses.
And while yesterday’s announcement of 25 extra maintenance jobs in Tamworth won’t stop the boardroom rumblings or the stockmarket jitters, it comes as welcome news to us.
Under the plan, 25 new engineers will join the 72 other maintenance workers at the airport and help oversee a new hangar, effectively doubling QantasLink’s local maintenance capacity.
The upgrade, which had long been rumoured, follows prolonged negotiations between the carrier, Tamworth Regional Council and the state government.
Indeed, council and the Baird government even chipped in $300,000 a piece to get the deal across the line.
But before ratepayers start hyperventilating in outrage about public money propping up a private company, they should consider this.
The new positions haven’t just secured 25 highly paid engineers and their families for Tamworth, but they may have secured QantasLink’s maintenance presence in Tamworth altogether.
With blood on its balance sheet, the temptation for Qantas to take the jobs off-shore must have been great.
By growing its presence at Tamworth airport, QantasLink has given a resounding show of faith in the city.
QantasLink CEO John Gissing yesterday described Tamworth as a “centre of aviation engineering excellence”.
And the city’s rich aviation history isn’t just a source of local pride, it’s given life to an evolving, thriving industry that feeds dozens of auxiliary businesses and hundreds of jobs.
As recent history so graphically shows, the airline market both domestically and internationally is a ruthless game where only the strong survive.
In such a market, we simply cannot take QantasLink’s presence here for granted.
Council and the state government should be congratulated, not castigated, for helping ensure the survival of an Australian icon in Tamworth.
Long may it continue.
