Fed: A380 fleet facility needs to be in Australia, workers say

AAP General News (Australia)
12-16-2009
Fed: A380 fleet facility needs to be in Australia, workers say

EDS: Reissuing to correct percentage of total holdings by foreign airlines in 4th par



CANBERRA, Dec 16 AAP - Aircraft engineers are demanding Qantas that maintain its A380
fleet in Australia and not overseas.

The engineers are concerned an easing of foreign ownership limits might prompt Qantas
to use maintenance facilities outside Australia.

The federal government's white paper on aviation, released on Wednesday, flags a change
to the laws governing the ownership of Qantas.

While the airline will remain 51 per cent owned by Australian interests, the restrictions
on individual foreign shareholdings (25 per cent) and total holdings by foreign airlines
(35 per cent) are to be removed.

The Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association, in cautiously welcoming the
white paper, says Qantas is the big winner out of the white paper.

"We say that it is about time that Qantas reinvested some of those savings into maintenance
of aircraft within Australia, particularly the A380 fleet," the association's federal
secretary Steve Purvinas told reporters in Canberra.

Presently no heavy maintenance facility exists for the A380 aircraft as the fleet has
been in service for only two years.

Heavy maintenance is undertaken for aircraft more than three years old.

Undertaking fleet maintenance in Australia would initially provide an additional 250
jobs, Mr Purvinas said.

"But over time as the full complement of the A380 fleet are required by the airline,
we say this would provide jobs for 1000 Australians."

The association has written to Qantas CEO Alan Joyce asking him to commit to building
the facility in Australia.

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KEYWORD: AVIATION REAX (REISSUING)

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