Ansett gone .......but ?
 

8 years ago the airline ceased operations in its major form.
Has the industry become any better for the loss of this world class organisation?
While we are in some shed waiting for Tiger, squashed in a Virgin tin can or sneered at up the pointy end of a QF filght do you lament the way things used to be?

:ok:

funny this thread should appear... I was watching some of their TV commercials on youtube yesterday.

i miss it to death....

as a passenger...... and as work (over 20 years ago :ok: )

Ansett will never be forgotten, nor will TAA and East West,

AN did indeed technichally die when the aeroplanes Reg owned where sold off and the 737s and 767s were leased by the the Fat prick and Abeles.

The monies gained from that were stripped from the Company. The rest is history.

TN was is the same leaky boat after years of the Government stripping profits out of the operation and eventually was aquired by QF on Government order to keep it afloat.

East West on the other hand was aquired by stealth by the evil empire as we were a huge and growing threat. Ansett with its lame management had no idea how to run a lean machine and eventually shut us.

But back to the original question, the answer is NO. Ansett will be remembered not for the fat bastard that killed them but will most definitely be remembered for the terrific people that gave it a heart and soul.

Two generations down the track there may be a lack of knowledge in the general public, but the memory will live on down family lines.

Best all

EWL

One BIG difference between then and now, a return fare from BNE to MEL (or CNS) was something like $800 or more, now usually can get them for $100-150.

RU/16 Better get used to it mate...any opportunity! :rolleyes:

Bottom line, Ansett was the beneficiary of some dodgy Government intervention & in the end, with a multitude of other factors involved, it was brought down by the same dodgy Government intervention.

As for service standards, well, as Airsupport says, $800 got you a little more polish on the flight, in the airport facilities, and other areas but most people just see the bottom line. As with life, society seems to bend to the lowest common denominator. People used to put on a tie & hat to go out, now, well, just take a look around.

Some companies can move with the times, others cannot, or will not. There was no one in upper management at Ansett capable of reading the times, so it fell by the wayside. Like Qantas has now, Ansett looked like it was starting to head down the path of lowering its services in order to cut costs. Alas, too little, too late...

Who says Ansett has gone? Been to the Sim Centre in Tullamarine lately? Ansett stuff everywhere right down to the Link Trainer. It is actually a good place for "if only" scenarios as an example of what could have been possible if it was run as a business and not as a plaything.

Ansett gone .......but ?
 

Just wondering,

why was this this thread padlocked ????????????:rolleyes:

It was just getting to be a thread that was a display of some great memories and experiences, with minimal angst for all involved ! At least from my perspective, as humble as it may be :sad:.

Disappointed :*

SRU

Ansett was the best airline compared to the crap around today.

then why is is it not still here ah?

Yes, why on Earth was it padlocked?

It was one of very few threads here worth reading and posting on, yet you lock it. :confused:

IF anyone was posting inappropriate things on the thread, then okay take action against them, but NOT the thread. :(

Why is it not still here.

Because it was losing money.

Almost as much money as QF did as the Department Of Flying The Flag.

But alas, AN didnt have decades of tax payer money to prop it up.

Certainly the then PM's overt assitance to his best mate PA didn't help!:hmm:
A b*gga it, lock this thread too!!

Its costs (notably the salaries of pilots, cabin crew and engineers) had grown so large over the years that it had become vulnerable to external economic factors. So vulnerable was Ansett that, in the end, no bang was required to knock it over - merely a whimper.

This was in large part due to the efforts of the various unions. Unions are supposed to look after their members but in all too many cases around the world (in not just airlines), it is their actions that ultimately put their members out of work. I am of course referring to the continuous upwards "creep" in pay and conditions.

It must have been great working there and being on the receiving end of those enormous salaries. I wonder how many realised the danger posed by those enormous salaries?

P.S. Great thread. A shame the original was locked as some photos were, I believe, just about to be posted.

In actual fact the salaries were on a par with Qantas except for the flight attendants who were paid less than their QF counterparts. Ansett failed solely due to mismanagement.

"I am of course referring to the continuous upwards "creep" in pay and conditions."

So you would prefer all wages were kept stagnant for say 5 or 10 year periods while inflation (read- COST OF LIVING) rises annually. :hmm:

No. He would prefer that wages FELL over a 5 -10 year period. It would let business create new "opportunities". (read - line management's pockets).

B*gger it. This thread will get locked, too.

So you would prefer all wages...

An unfortunately naive view of industrial relations...

Stand by for the implementation of the current Australian rule set (when we find out what it is).

I am fully expecting to have to retrench to balance the inevitable wages and conditions push in a very tight business situation. Sad, but if the troops want to push up their individual conditions, it very likely will be at the expense of a buddy's total conditions ...

I dont want to take this thread off topic as the last thread was a goldie.

My reply will be in a new topic in General Aviation q's section...

Ansett had to be gotten rid of because it would have been a huge threat to Air New Zealand and Qantas under the stewardship of SIA.

How is it that Ansett was Airline of the year 2 years in a row, Olympic official carrier then just vanish into thin air.

ANZ bought Ansett though it could not afford it, they paid 150 mill more than what SIA offered News Corp for their half, only to stop Ansett from flying across to the West Coast USA, as ANZ thought that domain belonged to them and Qantas exclusively.

They all new that Ansett was a real danger to them, as Branson said that Ansett International was the best airline service in the world.

So when the payment came up ANZ could not afford to make the payments and just let Ansett adrift after gutting all the assets, meanwhile Trickie-Dickie had Howard and co in his pocket, so no life-line, not like for the Auto industry or many other examples (Howards Bro.) where the gov bailed out troubled industries.:sad:

In actual fact the salaries were on a par with Qantas except for the flight attendants who were paid less than their QF counterparts. Ansett failed solely due to mismanagement.

Z Force, you hit it on the head there, and the pilots were actually costing a lot less post 89 than before, but let's not get into the pre/post $hit fight here.

Richard Cranium, you're no d1ckhead after all.

The minister for QF, John Anderson, insisted that ANZ buy Ansett (and he could have just as easily stopped them in the national interest) so that they wouldn't kill QF stone dead as would have been inevitable. SIA was and is a great airline from a marketing point, and QF wouldn't have stood a chance.

The pollies had to keep the gravy train gold passes on QF going. It'd be too tough if they had to pay for their own tickets, especially on the most generous superannuation in the country.