I think the same people were up in arms years ago when I was saying VA was on shaky ground while JB was pumping up the debt. The foreign investment from EQ, SQ and AirNZ being the only reason they lasted abnormally long, otherwise they would have been doomed probably 5 or so years ago. You can only sell so many assets and lease back, or blame worker conditions before you have to face reality that the numbers are against you and too many sharks are taking chunks of your revenue.
What did we find out about VA at the end? That the reported losses were the tip of the iceberg not the worst case bet. Of course thats what all share listed companies do, its all rosy until an alarm bell sounds 5 minutes to the bankrupt deadline.