When it comes to speculation on the future of our jobs we are usually cynical for the sake of self preservation, understandable after the experience that most airline pilots endured in the GA community prior to entering airlines.
Many pprune readers would have been burned by GA companies, regional airlines folding up and some by the demise of Ansett. Having said that perhaps this discussion on the future of Australian Airlines could be enhanced with the introduction of some facts. I will list a few and I invite anyone who is better informed than I to correct me.
Australian Airlines will be receiving its 6th aircraft soon. This at reasonable expense due to the re-configuration and re-paint required. The airline's offices in Cairns are being refurbished at great expense. The company is evaluating new uniforms for the pilots. There are currently about half a dozen pilots being trained for promotion/conversion on the 767 to work for Australian which is paid for by Australian. The airline is currently recruiting flight attendants. They are about to start twice daily services to Narita. They are introducing premium economy into the fleet in June which will involve the expense of re-configuring all of their aircraft.
These are the facts as I understand them, not speculation. Everything in yesterdays AFR and the comments I have read here on pprune are speculative at best. I have read many newspaper articles over the last few years where journalists have reported the future of Qantas with the assistance of his inside sources, only to be proven completely wrong. Perhaps I have become cynical, but these days I just work on the prima facie truths and try to ignore expert commentary.