Citation

Mitchell J, Markey B. Hum. Factors Aerosp. Safety 2004; 4(3): 245-258.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Ashgate Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

In March 2002 Ansett Australia, the country's second largest airline, collapsed after 66 years of operation. This paper examines some of the issues facing one section of this Ansett family, the Customer Service Officers (CSOs). CSOs are ground based clerical staff whose responsibilities include check-in, dispatch and arrival of aircraft, editing and load control. In terms of financial and emotional costs, the impact of the collapse on the 16,000 staff may never be measured. The aim of this research was to identify some of the outcomes of the collapse on the 235 CSOs based at the domestic terminal at Mascot. This group consisted of 91 (38.7%) males and 144 (61.3%) females. Three research methods were utilized, survey, structured interviews and participant observation. The decisions the CSOs faced were many and varied, and for the most part, personal. The first major choice was to accept the offer of redundancy or remain and face an uncertain future. Gender did not appear to be a determining factor in the distribution of the choice to stay or go. The notable consequence of the Ansett retrenchments was that the majority of participants experienced period(s) of unemployment. The collapse of Ansett represented a significant loss to the Australian airline industry and had a devastating effect on the lives of many people.