The Keg
Love your gif.
I dont recall actually knocking Skywest. I do recall wishing them well.
I also recall trying to point out that for all the rah rah it's not going to be easy.
I have not been so much as amazed at the way the staff have rallied, as astonished that everybody seems to think that Ansett and I guess that includes Skywest has a special case for rescue.
In another part of my life the HIH debacle is causing a whole lot more angst but is much less visible.
Somebody drove then into the ground and AirNz didn't do it on their own. They simply took the sucker bet.
Profit is a very slippery thing and to separate Skywest out of the Ansett umbrella in "profit" terms would be a very interesting exercise indeed.
Any way the real underlying issue in my opinion is, that if the Governments, Federal and State, haven't worked out by now that they must
reregulate the Australian aviation industry and
support/subsidise rural and remote areas, then they are on a different planet than I am.
I was watching the boss of the Australian Hotels Assoc. suggesting that in this State alone they were facing losses of over $200,000,00 by Christmas as a result of Ansetts demise. That could only be the tip of the ice berg.
It is fairly obvious that the
free market in this sense can only bring tears and the that pivotal position aviation holds in this country cannot be left to capital strippers and corporate rapists, without some form of supervision.
The bells were ringing at Christmas when the regulator had to step in to do their safety thing, but there was no financial oversight (unlike HIH where there was, but which for one reason or another failed) to protect the
staff and other industries that rely on air transport.
This country is simply not big enough to support more than 2 max 3 interstate carriers and more than 1 carrier across any regional route.
I distinctly recall Skywest as being one of the more vocal on these and other matters in the past.
That there is always some bright starry eyed hopeful prepared to give it a go (usually with someone elses money) in these areas without subsidy or support and eagerly latched onto by Government like a drowning man, when others pull out, simply demonstrates the Pollyanna syndrome that pervades the industry.
That Govt had to stump up the money says a lot.
It seems that it was a golden opportunity for the staff to take some ownership of the problem, $3,000,000 should not have been too difficult to have found in cash or kind.
It would only require some real commitment.
In the matter of Qantas buying Skywest, well that remains to be seen, they simply don't need to and in any event might have a problem with that Fels character.
Oh and BTW I hope the "you can't believe how glad we are to have you on board" lasts a little bit longer than usual.
That is an everyday requirement nowadays for succesful companies.
Ah well here we go, back to the future again.
