SOPS:
Why would you shut down the part of the business that has the much much lower cost base than Qantas Mainline???
I am sure that all the Qantas staff who bemoan Jetstar so much would quite happily volunteer some pay and productivity efficiencies to turn Qantas into a competitive company.
The obsession that a lot of Qantas staff have with Jetstar is just a convenient distraction from the reality that Qantas is way to expensive in the modern airline market. Emirates has an average salary (across all employees) of $48,000 AUD whilst Qantas has an average salary of $96,000 AUD.
Has anyone thought that the inability of ANY union in the airline to entertain meaningful cost cutting has basically 'forced' the hand of the Qantas board to try and cut costs. I suspect a massive shake up is on the way, and I wouldn't think it will be Jetstar shutdown.
This is not aimed specifically at Pilots, infact overall the Flying Operations side of things is probably not a massive part of the cost puzzle. What an airline can't be doing in this day in age is paying the non-skilled workforce such as Baggage handlers, Ground staff and some would say Cabin crew more than minimum wage. The skilled side such as Engineers and Pilots will find their own level as the market dictates.
Another thing Qantas should do is shutdown head office for 7 days, any manager who doesn't get a phone call in that 7 days should be let go straight away.