Mr Joyce meets the Liberals in Canberra to outline what he wants, (frame grab)
And this is the message Andrew Broad, Nationals MP Mallee (Victoria) got from the meeting, video extract below... and he's a pilot.....
good to know the country is in safe hands....
The full video & story can be seen here......
The storm facing Qantas was one Joe Hockey couldn't ignore
On the flip side,
The Herald can see merit in the guarantee with caveats on management performance and where the money is spent.
In the longer term, the government could aid Qantas by crimping Virgin Australia, although that would lift ticket prices and limit competition.
Other options involve Qantas selling its lucrative frequent flyer business to lower debt. The government could also allow Qantas to hive off Jetstar to local or foreign interests.
But both Qantas and hardliners in the government would prefer Parliament allowed Qantas to access more foreign capital by raising the 49 per cent foreign ownership cap.
Mr Hockey knows the risks in tinkering with public support for Australian ownership. Naturally, he could make the case at the next election that Qantas will perish without more ownership freedom. The government could promise that Qantas would always have to be Australian-based and give preference to Australian workers.
But before any long-term support for Qantas is forthcoming, the airline must get its own house in order. Costs are certainly an issue. Mr Joyce is claiming great credit for reducing them with tough tactics, such as grounding the airline in October 2011. He has also signalled $2 billion more in cuts.
Many Australians question the impact of such an extreme cost-cutting strategy on the airline's full service brand and operations.
What's more, it is rich indeed for Mr Joyce to offer to become an even bigger battering ram on industrial relations if the government agrees to his appeals.
Many of Qantas' problems have been exacerbated by poor management decisions, such as the Jetstar Asia venture and insistence on maintaining 65 per cent of the domestic air travel market no matter the demand for flights.
Many will ask whether Mr Joyce and his team should be leading Qantas through this difficult period, with or without government support.
Finally, I think the mainstream media are getting the message, the above editorial is much closer to the real issues than what we have been fed the last 48 hours, kudos to Fairfax (other than Ben Sandilands blog, always a good read)
Qantas begs for help, takes no responsibility for crisis | Plane Talking
and this "crack up" today,
New Qantas slogan ?Fly Us or Else? | Plane Talking
.