The union leader who urged airline passengers to boycott Qantas is now hopeful of reaching a deal in its dispute over pay and job security.
The more conciliatory tone from the Australian Licenced Aircraft Engineers Association comes as Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce warns the airline could be forced to sack staff, including pilots and cabin crew, even if they are not union members or involved in industrial action.
With several unions involved in tense negotiations with Qantas, the engineers' union says it is hopeful of reaching an agreement when they met at Fair Work Australia on Thursday afternoon.
"We've de-escalated our industrial action to show we are serious about these negotiations, and today's meeting will be an opportunity for Qantas to show they are equally serious about resolving the matter," federal secretary Steve Purvinas said in a statement.
Only a week ago he was telling airline passengers planning to travel in the lead-up to Christmas to consider carriers other than Qantas.
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Mr Joyce told News Limited on Thursday the airline could be forced to sack staff if industrial unrest continued.
"If we have to keep grounding aircraft due to the ongoing industrial action then there will be jobs at risk within the rest of Qantas," he said.
"When we are forced to ground aircraft it means we have fewer flights, less passengers and if it gets worse it could mean we need less people employed at Qantas.
"Cabin crew, airport staff and short-haul pilots, these are some of the innocent bystanders in this dispute."
Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten said the federal government would be unlikely to step in to solve the impasse between unions and Qantas.
"It has to be affecting the whole national economy," he told the Nine Network on Thursday.
"Qantas has indicated it wants to keep negotiating as have some of the relevant unions ... but at this stage we don't get involved in every commercial contract negotiation, we don't get involved in every dispute, we've got to leave it to the parties.
"There are powers to step in if it escalates."
Mr Purvinas maintains the engineers union's pay claim of three per cent a year is modest and below inflation.
"Our real focus has always been on job security," he said.
"As Qantas relocates to Asia, which they have made no bones about, the jobs of Australian licensed engineers will slowly be made redundant."
An estimated 60,000 Qantas passengers have been affected by a series of rolling strikes by engineers and ground crews.
More passengers are expected to be affected next week, with baggage handlers, ground staff and catering employees planning to walk off the job on Tuesday, October 25.
