Legacy airlines are going the way of the dinosaur, we are living through a period of massive structural adjustment. Industries which sat comfortably for decades, such as Taxis, Video/DVD rental, music shops, book shops etc have had the carpet pulled out from under them by internet connectivity.
These days a generation have grown up being used to doing things online and will be followed by subsequent generations who will expect to be able to do anything via their smart phone. Read a book, download a song, watch a film, order a pizza, book a hotel room, buy an air ticket etc are increasingly done online and it's getting more sophisticated.
Unionised legacy airlines, charging high fares for poor service may have been profitable in the 1970s but not anymore. Even Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines have seen their results nosedive in the face of competition from low cost airlines at the lower end, ME3 at the middle and higher end and homegrown Chinese airlines.
Most industries will have to take a long hard look at their business model, and many will find it won't be sustainable in its current form if at all, in the years to come.
Forcing people to fly Qantas makes no more sense than banning the import of foreign cars and making us all drive Falcons and Commodores. Luddites used to destroy machinery during the industrial revolution as they believed it threatened their jobs, perhaps we should stop mechanised farming and start ploughing with horses again. Do away with the internet and go back to snail mail and telegrams.
How far back should we go ?