Pilot sources said yesterday the flying kangaroo had offered the Jetstar Pilots Council an incrementally increasing pay scale that culminated in pilots earning about $158,000 a year to fly an A330.
"That's just about a hundred grand less than a Qantas captain," the source said. "It's going to cause a bit of angst because that will set the benchmark pay for the Boeing 787, because they get that first."
Qantas is expected to temporarily transfer four A330s to Jetstar International when it begins flying late next year or early in 2007.
The new low-cost offshoot, designed to target lower yield leisure routes, will get the first four of the airline's new super-efficient Boeing 787s in late 2008.
Mainline pilots believe Jetstar is not interested in them and are upset that it is instead recruiting overseas. Qantas confirmed it was negotiating a new agreement with its pilots but refused to comment further.
The airline already faces potential industrial action from maintenance unions seeking to prevent the carrier from slashing conditions and exporting jobs.
The unions warned yesterday they would not enter into any cost-cutting deals with the airline unless it guaranteed jobs would remain in Australia.
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