The solution in the medium to long term will be to float Jetstar Group. Keep the relationship at 10-20%. Japan and Singapore can be sold but branding held.

Financial windfall would be very very significant.

Former Jetstar Japan CEO Nicolas Rohrlach is days away from starting as Velocity chief executive at Virgin, after accepting the position in December. But Qantas has applied to the Supreme Court of Singapore for an injunction to stop him, until its claim that he is legally not allowed to work for Virgin until September can be heard.

How much would Nic know and what damage to QF could he do?

I would say - plenty of damage judging by the way QF are going to extraordinary lengths to keep Nic away from VA for as long as possible. At best, they can only delay the inevitable until September. My guess would be that Nic knows a lot more about the QF Groups holistic strategic plans that includes much more than just Jetstar Japan.

I suppose they think by keeping him away as long as possible he may suffer memory loss too,have they forgotten he can still communicate with them even if he isnt officially employed.
The longer they play their usual bullying games the more determined he is going to be when he is eventually allowed to work for virgin,another classic example of AJ throwing a tantrum.

I just heard on the news this morning someone from the government saying quarantine will be in place for at least 2 ears in Australia. I didn’t make it in to the room fast enough to see who it was. Devastating for the international arm of the business.

In reality probably not a great surprise when you look at india.
Considering the population of india,its going to be a nightmare trying to get people to comply & then there is the shocking living conditions in many parts of the country.
The only hope for international is some more travel bubbles & even then if there are any to asia the people coming to oz from wherever will have to be able to prove where they have been.
If we get any of what india has got,domestic will be shut down very quickly,we need to protect what we have got.

Well, by the looks of it this will very much go on beyond 2022 even further with Australia having its borders closed. Reports that India had more infections and death than being reported in excess of half a billion infected.

Why? India isn’t Australia. Having fully open borders is obviously going to be problematic but bubbles will evolve as vaccination rates increase. The USA will have heard immunity within the next few months. Their fully vaccinated citizens are free to travel internationally and return without having to quarantine unlike Australia whom thinks it knows better even though we didn’t develop any of the top 6 vaccines.

Qantas is planning for international travel beyond the current bubble with enthusiasm. The Olympics will go ahead. How will the 2000 plus entourage get to Japan? The current cyclic program has an exercise in and out of Haneda. Why? If Australia doesn’t pull its finger out it will be left behind and watch the political backlash start once the general public realise they’ve been duped.

If the state wants to save lives and not overwhelm the health system then ban smoking and drinking immediately. The hypocrisy knows no bounds. Set the speed limit at 20kph to eliminate road deaths. Ban red meat as it causes heart disease which is the number one killer in Australia.

Where does this stupidity stop and where does the rational logical debate begin.

Don’t get out of bed. It’s too dangerous. In fact don’t be born at all since you’ve got a 100% chance of dying.

COVID is going nowhere. It’s here and here to stay. The mass vaccinations are not designed to eliminate COVID, they are designed to slow the pandemic down to a point where it is going to be probably something manageable like a seasonal flu. Some figures suggest that in itself will take another 2 years to achieve at the rate things are going. 15 months in and the pandemic has yet to be brought under control. They ‘thought’ it would take 6 months.

The sad reality is that the sooner we learn to live with it rather than lockdown the world, the better. The actual cost of trillions to the global economy, businesses that won’t return, the huge rise in suicide, depression and mental health problems, the increase in deaths from cancers because people haven’t been attending hospitals, doctors and specialists, and so on is astronomical. The full effect has not yet been felt. As much as TV footage from India is disturbing, facts still show that the obese, unhealthy and elderly are at highest risk. Less than 1% of people have been affected and the recovery rate is around 98%. The worlds Governments panicked and overreacted and now we are paying a very heavy price that will be felt for many decades.

Just look at what WA did over 1 case last week, the stupidity will last for yrs time some accept it. Hong Kong have announced a travel bubble with Singapore so does Australia pursue a bubble with Singapore still?

USA expected to have herd immunity brilliant for them, it will mean nothing for us, remember what WA did last week over 1 case, the very highly infectious strain that could kill us all! QLD, VIC, NT, SA, TAS will do the same if there is one case. Short sharp snap lockdowns they’re called I’m still struggling to come to terms with that as you would think contact tracing would be up to scratch.

Exactly my thoughts.

I think the pain for our industry and Australian airlines is far from over, Alan claiming international is back by October (or whenever it is now) is a pipe dream. But more so, a few months of elevated pax numbers and travellers blasting around on the domestic burners and visits to our close neighbours over the ditch is just peachy…Before they start getting cold feet again over the constant last second border closures and state lock downs that are without doubt due to occur many more times yet will only lead to a one step forward two steps back type situation.

And with basically zero international visitors flying on our shiny little jets (sorry, not including you kiwis in those numbers) til TBD - some say a year, some say even a few - things just don’t look good in the next couple years at all once the dust settles. Some of you lads like to Sugar coat it and say it will be all good before we know it and bounce back soon…but it’s just not going to happen on our current trajectory. No way in heck with our leaders calling these shots.

Don’t get caught up in the media hype. COVID is here to stay...just like the flu. Move on.

Qantas has just invited LWOP holders on the 330/787 to return as soon as next month.

EU is open to vaccinated Americans. It’s only a matter of time. The AU population won’t stand for being prisoners for much longer

Of course QF are going to do all of the Olympic Games charters.

2000 attendees? There’s around 8 flights up and 8 flights back, nothing huge but not bad at the same tone.

787’s or 330’s?

Also surely journo’s, commentators etc must also go?

Will be interesting to see.

As for Straya opening up... yeah I reckon prison island for at least a year to come with Q on arrival regardless of the jab jab.

I share the pessimism but I reckon Australia will be pulled into the fray with most other western countries opening up international travel over the next few months. Scotty from marketing is all talk no action, he will allow international travel if the polls say so, this crap about the health experts is exactly that....crap.. I mean for god sake the data says if you are COVID vaccinated it is less lethal than influenza..It will turn, possibly faster than we think...

EU is not currently open to vaccinated Americans. It may be in the future but as of now, no.

At the current rate of vaccination the USA will be fully vaccinated in a few months. Cases there will decrease significantly and perhaps even to the point of eradication?

Two things will then occur. They’ll be able to travel a bit more freely, and more vaccinations will become available for the rest of the world including Australia. Whilst the Australian vaccination rollout has been slowed with the AZ issues, I can foresee a very significant number of Pfizer vaccine doses coming online from about August with the prospect of the entire nation vaccinated by Feb/ March next year.

With that having occurred theres no reason why quarantine free travel can’t open up from Feb/ March next year as long as the state Premiers start to understand that Covid cases with vaccine is a very different beast to Covid cases without vaccine. My guess is that a vaccinated public will start to turn against state Premiers who continue the lockdown charade. In the interim I can see bubbles with Singapore and Japan before years end. Potentially the USA and the UK also though there may still be some iso requirements for the latter two on arrival until all of Australia is also vaccinated.

A lot of has changed in the last 12 months. A lot can change again in the next 12- both good and bad!

How can we have a bubble with Singapore when they will be freely traveling to Hong Kong? Australia has not mentioned a bubble with Hong Kong anytime soon, so I guess Singapore is now off the table now, and if it’s not it should be.

Pfizer being more readily available you say! To whom inner city People the fact is Pfizer is in the to hard basket to make it readily available and Astra Zeneca is a damaged brand no coming back for that one now, early reports 58 yr old has died from AZ overnight still early and yet to be confirmed but AZ may as well be shelfed now. .

WA people are brainwashed to the Max they love the McGowen will close at the sniff of this pesky virus. Queen P we know will do the same but will also go running to the gov for cash because she is keeping QLD safe. Eradication has been jammed down the throat of all Australians anything less will not be accepted regardless of vaccinated or not.

What will be the next throughly tried and tested vaccine? Australia is falling further behind the world everyday, don’t get to excited to fly your 330 to Japan or Singapore just yet!

can you give us some more information about this. I can find absolutely no evidence at all, anywhere, that this is true. Thanks.

Keg, herein lies the scary point, you have a fairy balanced debate and certainly skin in the game yet like me you are predicting a year away for real international travel. As for travel
bubbles, I think a lot of it is all talk. I really do hope we are wrong.

Reported overnight, died last week, Tamworth base hospital.