The Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), which has been focussing its protected industrial action on raising awareness of the Qantas management plan to offshore jobs, is today marking the two month anniversary of qantaspilots.com.au by thanking the 50,000 individual Australians who have visited the site since its launch in July, and the 22,000 who have signed the online petition to keep Qantas pilots in the cockpit.

Qantas pilots are currently engaged in a dispute with management for the first time since 1966, over chief executive Alan Joyce’s plans to shift operations to Southeast Asia and replace Qantas pilots with outsourced alternatives.

AIPA President Captain Barry Jackson said the support of the Australian public for Qantas pilots has served as a huge morale boost during a difficult time.

“Qantas pilots are trying to get their message heard in the face of one of the biggest corporate spin machines in the country,” Captain Jackson said.

“Unlike Mr Joyce and his management team, AIPA doesn’t have millions of dollars of shareholder money to blow on full page attack ads and fluffy imagery.

“But the great thing about the information age is that tens of thousands of Australians can get a balanced view by going online. They’re also easily able to show their support through our petition.

Captain Jackson said Qantas pilots would continue to do everything possible to apply pressure to management, while simultaneously avoiding inconveniencing passengers.

“The only forms of protected industrial action pilots are currently taking remain the brief, positive in-flight announcements and a cheeky non-compliance with the uniform code, with our red ‘Qantas flight, Qantas pilot’ ties,” Captain Jackson said.

AIPA said it is still hopeful that this will encourage management to actually sit down and discuss the inclusion on a Qantas flight / Qantas pilot clause in the new agreement.