“Mate, it's about empowerment if you have ever flown Southwest and watched them work you will understand this.”
Yep, as a regular commuter for work I fly Southwest A LOT. And others.
“Qantas had that same spirit in the 1970's and at least half the 1980's.”
Really. Captains loaded bags? Fleet managers spent a week on the ramp? Check in staff dumped toilets? I doubt it.
The empowerment and work ethic you talk of is the result of very clever staff selection. It is extremely uncommon for legacy airlines to simply revolutionize the existing workforce from disenfranchised “job builders” to hard working empowered “line of sighters”.