WORKING WITH COVID-19
ADAPT AND STAY POSITIVE
TOWARDS the end of March 2020, QANTAS stood down more than 20,000 staff and in June, fired another 6000.
International flights were suspended and a 60 per cent reduction in domestic flights meant two-thirds of employees were temporarily stood down to preserve as many jobs as possible in the longer term.
All international flights were suspended seeing more than 150 aircraft temporarily grounded including all of Qantas’s 787s, 747s, and A380s.
Such was the impact of COVID-19.
For Dubbo local Mark Benton, an A330 pilot, this meant he was temporarily but abruptly out of a secure job.
“Usually I work during the week, flying up into Asia mostly, flying the A330, and then home at weekends,” Mr Benton said.
“I was terminated from my job on March 7, thanks to COVID-19 restrictions. Just before that, before COVID really spread, all we had noticed was one temperature check in Singapore. After Australia reached over 100 deaths, that was that. All international flights were grounded.”
Spending a lot of time on terra firma is something different for Mr Benton but he’s making the most of it.
“I’ve been home longer now than I’ve ever been so I’m loving spending time with my family, and I think everyone’s found that, especially in the beginning when we all stayed home with family.
“I’m also really enjoying not being jetlagged all the time,” he said.
Despite the uncertainty of when international flights will resume to China and Asia, Mr Benton has not been idle, picking up piloting jobs with local charter flight business Bush Air.
Their Beechcraft Baron aircraft takes a maximum of five passengers and can do 380 kilometres per hour, compared to an A330 which can carry over 250 passengers and cruise at speeds which basically break the sound barrier (over 987 kilometres per hour).
“It took a little bit of getting used to a six-seater but it’s still a plane, so yes it did take me a little while to get used to flying a small plane again,” he said.
Doing what he can for his family however, has been paramount above anything else, so Mr Benton also jumped at the chance of another job, doing food deliveries for Woollies.
When asked if he’s as a good a driver as a pilot, he laughed, but added: “I have spent a lot more time trying to be a good pilot than a driver.
“I stay positive, and I’ve been doing what everybody really has had to do at this time and that’s adapt. Jobkeeper is very helpful but it only covers a basic wage. I really had to do something else.”
Following the recent relaxation of COVID-19 restrictions and prior to current renewed concerns, Mr Benton has been able to return to “fly” in an A330 simulator.
“We usually go into the simulator every three months, so that’s been fantastic.”
Mr Benton also owns local adventure flight business, Warrior Warbirds, offering adventure flights in a CJ-6A Nanchang, a Chinese designed and built military trainer which first flew for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force in 1958.
“It’s been good to get my plane back in the air. We’ve set everything up to be COVID-SAFE and we’re offering flights again.”