Jesus H Christ - how much did Steve McCreedy get paid for doing "This is your life" on Brett Godfrey??
More to the point why even write this article in the first place?
Were they desperate to fill the columns??
Back down to planet earth the fact is this.
Much as we dislike Brett Godfrey for the whinging/whining pain in the arse that he is (just ask the
VB Captain that was 'sacked' by him for doing the right thing only to be re-instated by the boss pilot) , he has been successful and is a hard worker.
Managers have different styles and when the chips are down and the companies back is to the wall, that is where the mark of a true manager shines.
With the advent of 9/11 and QF very shrewdly buying up 737-800's/747-400ER's/A330's while every other airline in the world was cancelling orders - that is the mark of the shrewd man that Geoff Dixon is.
The SARS episode recently severly tested not only Dixon once again but every operator into the Asia/Pacific.
Once again he came out ahead against alot of criticism of how he managed the airline through that crisis.
The purchasing of additional slots into London, the purchase of Impulse and the creation/advent of JetStar are indicative of his street-fighter attitude.
He is competitive and doesnt like to be taken lying down so to speak.
Back to Godfrey and the fact is this.
The collapse of Ansett was a god-send to
VB and handed to them on a platter a period of growth and prosperity even they could not have imagined in their wildest dreams.
And good on them - they seized the opportunity.
In my opinion Godfrey has been riding the gravy train after Ansett collapsed and they could do nothing but prosper with that gap in the market.
QF knew they couldnt fill the void alone.
The fact that
VB's engineering was allowed to get into such disarray (QF/AN would be grounded according to one CASA inspector), and is still not quite up to scratch is indicative of either poor management at the top or the fact that an inept engineering manager was firstly appointed and secondly able to pull the wool over everybodies eyes for so long.
With JetStar on the scene and god knows what else may come our way, it will be interesting to see just how Godfrey handles himself with direct competition in the lower cost arena - this will be the true mark of his ability and worth.
To date JetStar is hurting
VB and they havent even started up yet in earnest.
Also the media which
VB used so effectively as portaying themselves as the "poor aussie battlers" pitted against the 'uncaring and expensive' Qantas will be used just as effectively by JetStar against
VB.
As far as the media is concerned
VB was yesterdays story and J* will be in the limelight for the forseeable future.
Bet your balls Steve McCreedy will be itching to write a similar article on the Jet Star counterpart and when asked about his Godfrey article say "Brett who?"
That folks is how the media works.