Whilst I would be amongst the first to agree that ‘What’s going down at Qantas is no joking matter,’ must admit I am more taken by Elizabeth Knight’s article in today’s SMH – Qantas in a dogfight no one will win.
As Elizabeth points out in her article:
Qantas is not in trouble because its source of international investors is limited by the Qantas Sale Act. This has been a legitimate beef for a number of years but partner airlines such as Emirates could have taken a shareholding but chose not to.
The aspiring Virgin model has better enticed partners wanting to tap into the Australian market.
The Qantas Sale Act is there for very good reason and necessary changes to it need to include appropriate protections for all served by it. Achieving this will not come easily. It probably can and should be done but isn’t likely whilst the current protagonists control the agenda.