The great cost "Spin"
I have to agree with 438 here.
Over 70% of the cost base of an airline is down to fuel and aircraft costs(maintenance e.t.c).
The fact that Qantas are running 20 year old 747's that use higher amounts of fuel and are costly to maintain(4 engines and old aircraft not under warranty) is the deal breaker.
The flight crew cost (3-4 pilots) is a very small percentage of the cost base.
If we were to use Jetstar pilots on Qantas mainline routes the Qantas operation would not suddenly become profitable.
Still we get suckered in though.
If Qantas mainline had a modern fleet of appropriate aircraft,i.e the 777 ,we probably could rationalize more routes than we do currently. We would also stand a greater chance of remaining profitable on current Qantas routes.
I don't see any Jetstar aircraft that are 20 years old with a minimum of 20 defects. Reason: They could not make it economically viable without new aircraft leased cheaply off the back of the Qantas Group.