Prime Minister Tony Abbott has urged Qantas to put a formal survival plan to the government and told the airline’s management and staff to “fight for itself”.
Speaking to reporters in Sydney on Sunday, Mr Abbott promised to work constructively with the airline if it put a formal proposal to the government.
“The important thing is for Qantas to put its house in order, and the important thing is for Qantas to fight for whatever it changes it thinks are necessary and desirable to keep it prospering,” Mr Abbott said. “That’s the important thing, for Qantas to fight for itself.
“Now obviously in the process of fighting for itself, it’s perfectly entitled to put a proposal to government. And when we have a formal proposition from Qantas we will respond appropriately.
Mr Abbott would not be drawn on whether the government would consider options such as offering debt guarantees to Qantas, or whether an alternative to amend the law to allow foreign ownership would be put to cabinet this week. The prime minister told the Australian Financial Review on Friday that it was not an unreasonable request by Qantas to have the 1992 Qantas Sale Act lifted.
“In the end Qantas won’t survive because the government has brought about a survival plan. Qantas will survive and flourish because everyone in Qantas from the highest in management to the lowest in staff has decided that they collectively want to fight to keep this iconic Australian brand going,” Mr Abbott said.
Qantas complains it is increasingly unable to compete against domestic rival Virgin Australia Holdings, which is majority-owned and bankrolled by three state-owned foreign airlines, *Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad .
Qantas is seeking short-term support and has expressed a preference for a government guarantee to shore up the airline’s credit rating.
On Saturday, Labor MP Matt Thistlethwaite said the restrictions in the Qantas Sale Act existed for a good reason.
“Given what happened to private equity in the global financial crisis you could probably fairly say if we didn’t have the Qantas Sale Act.....Qantas would not be here today,” he told Sky News.
Independent senator Nick Xenophon challenged Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce to show one dollar of profit since setting up Jetstar Asia and other offshoots.
“If the CEO Alan Joyce and the chairman Leigh Clifford go, that will transform the airline because they have presided over monumental strategic mistakes including the failed Jetstar experiment in Asia where they have burned hundreds of millions,” he said.
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AFR Sunday