Australian pilots yesterday were considering blocking the sale of Qantas by investing their personal savings in the airline amid concerns from unions about the proposed takeover of the carrier.
The Australian and International Pilots Association said it may ask its 2,500 members to invest A$50,000 (US$39,125) each in Qantas shares to form a bloc which could thwart a private equity consortium's A$11.1 billion bid for the airline.
A consortium led by Macquarie Bank and which includes US-based Texas Pacific Group and Canada's Onex, last week won support from the Qantas board for its proposed takeover.
Spokesman for the pilot's association Peter Somerville said members were concerned commercial pressures could conflict with professional standards if the takeover bid, one of the biggest in airline history, went ahead.
The bid to buy shares, which would place about 1 percent of the airline in the pilots' hands, would fall short of the 10 percent needed to block the sale.
The association hoped to convince a further 9 percent of shareholders to refuse to sell their shares to the consortium despite the attractive offer of A$5.60 per share, he said.
Somerville said the pilots had mooted buying a strategic stake in the airline when a takeover was first suggested. Since then there had been strong interest from members in the deal, he said.
"We've had interest from our members and we've had interest from other investors and other shareholders who want to keep Qantas under the current holding," Somerville said.
The pilots would prefer to talk to the consortium about the situation, but their approaches for a meeting had been ignored, he said. As a result, pilots' concerns about professional standards had not been answered.
"There's the general uncertainty in regard to what the consortium plans for Qantas," he said. "The other point is, from our perspective, is that they are replacing equity with a buckletload of debt. Qantas pilots are concerned that that debt will require a return and a very considerable return."
The pilots will take their concerns to the government when they meet with representatives from the transport and treasury ministries tomorrow.
The government has said it will not block the sale, but the bid has raised concerns from unions sensitive to job losses and politicians wary of cuts to regional services and access to lucrative international aviation routes.
Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon said the union would urge the government to protect the national interest and the airline's 37,000-strong work force.
"We will be talking to a number of federal politicians to ensure the government will put pressure on the consortium so they don't start short-changing Australian workers and families," he said.
"We have taken Qantas' refusal to legally guarantee that no jobs will be lost as a sign they are not committed to its Australian work force or Australia's national interest," he said.
Speaking in Sydney, Prime Minister John Howard said the government would ensure any takeover would meet local laws.
"I repeat what I said last week and that's all Australians devoutly hope the Qantas we have is the Qantas we keep," he said.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft