Very astute comments.
I would like to draw your attention to the following documents:
CEO's speech calling Qantas a "Legacy Airline".
http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/...essAGM2004.pdf
It would be instructive to compare the salaries and conditions of QF pilots and engineers vs. the others around the world. Are they excessive? I don't believe so.
Qantas Advice to shareholders regarding the APA bid.
http://www.qantas.com.au/infodetail/...sStatement.pdf
This raises the question the market asked about why a private operator would wish to buy a "Legacy Airline"?
I would also refer you to this article - about the blurring of the divide between the LCC model and the "Legacy" model.
When the low-cost airlines entered the European market in the mid-1990s they brought a complete change in business philosophy. By keeping their costs to a minimum they aimed to bring low-fares to the travelling public, achieving this by taking away many of the traditional services offered by the full-service carriers. First went the free in-flight service, then the free checked bag allowance; but the legacy carriers were quick to react as they lost traffic to their new rivals. This has caused what we have today, a major blurring of the divide between the low-cost and traditional airlines, with a new hybrid model between the two extremes now being adopted by almost all.
Hmmmm, do we see the glimmer of a very different corporate strategy from the "Them and us" Jetstar/Qantas model? I think we do...more at the link:
Blurring the Low-Cost and Legacy Airline Divide :: Routesonline
As an aside, Air New Zealand was branded a "Legacy Airline", look at it now. They may not yet be profitable, but everyone from top to bottom appears to be aligned and working their backsides off for the shareholder.
It appears to me that the Board and Management of Qantas are "stuck on stupid" and totally focused on demonising unions. This is the last centurys battle. Margaret Jackson would have absorbed it from her economics lectures in the Old Pathology building. Dixon would have read about "Legacy Airlines" in an American context which is very different.
Meanwhile the world has moved on from that argument. The Board and management of QANTAS are fighting yesterdays battles with yesterdays weapons. They can't deliver and they won't change. They have to go.