Has QF considered taking the 789s and leasing them out to anybody that wants them ? Or is this too much like the Ansett model ( of establish subsidiaries to run any sort of business from hotels to trucks ) ?
The QF delivery slots are not so valuable, and by canceling the order QF immediately receives the delayed delivery compensation from Boeing (which would otherwise be a discount in the price, so not "received" by QF until years from now). I forget the dollar amount, but it is in the range of USD 400 million that QF gets in extra revenue this quarter ... so canceling the 787-9s and then re-ordering them next year is a hugely profitable exercise for the short term (and probably gets much the same delivery date). Meanwhile it also gets to hold the international fleet renewal hostage during union negotiations
