Could go on for days on this topic. Qantas will be fine for the time being. The brand name is worth a lot and the integration of international and domestic services is not provided by any other airline operating into Australia. However, the fun will be on when:
a) another international airline gets codeshare with
VB or another domestic; and,
b)
VB, or another domestic, operates useable domestic schedules to places like Darwin (as advised by a colleague).
IMO, when that happens, Qantas needs to target a customer group and focus a little less on trying to outdo every competitors' offerings with little regard to customer impressions. The company is chasing its own tail and trying to be everything to everyone. It's trying to compete and dominate with the LCCs, the luxury services and everything in between. It appears the managers figure they'll eventually find the right mix if they try everything while they continue to try and milk more out of the fixed overheads.
Like many others, I'm still trying to fathom the thought processes behind Jetstar. It's a squeezeplay on
VB, QF employees and unions, but it is fraught with all sorts of issues, not least of which is competing against itself. Does it meet the needs and expectations of the customer? Will it take over from Qantas or be a chain around its legs? At this stage, I favour the latter of the two.