Minister For Qantas
Verbatim quote from Crikey.com
Waiting here in LAX for QF12 to Sydney, with Dick Smith and Partner in view in the First Class Lounge, I can't but wonder that I would love an alternative to having to fly the rat to Oz. Especially as they are ALL full until the 26th and I had to bump someone from the plane using my status to get on. Not the first time it has happened either. The USA to Oz route is always full.
quote:
"Our insider at Qantas reports that CEO Geoff Dixon has been in Singapore at least 4 times in the last 6 weeks. Apparently he is trying to stitch up a deal with Singapore Airlines to stop them bidding for the Pacific route, the greatest profit maker for Qantas.
Dixon has once again duped the Minister for Qantas, John Anderson, into believing that the status quo is the way to go.
Qantas claimed as late as two days ago that capacity on the Pacific route (LA to the Australian east coast) is not capacity constrained yet the Australian Tourist Commission has evidence that if they raised the seat capacity on the route by 20%, the planes would still be full.
Makes one wonder what John Anderson's agenda is? Dixon continues to argue that if the Federal Government grants rights to Singapore to fly the Pacific route, he would have to cut services to regional Australia as they are "loss" making routes.
Have a look at the last two Qantas annual reports and they clearly show that these routes are in profit and made $66 million the year before last.
If Anderson backs Qantas yet again, so much for increased inbound tourism from America and the mega dollars this would bring into Australia. And so much for open skies.
The Minister for Qantas had blood on his hands after the Ansett collapse and it is amazing that he even lets Qantas through the door for briefings these days. Afterall, didn't Geoff Dixon do a presentation to Anderson that suggested there was no way Ansett could go broke?"