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Old Nov 18, 2013, 9:51 pm
  #1  
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Qantas asking for protection from Virgin

Amazing that Qantas CEO wants government to intervene to stop Virgin from competing with them. Like the car industry, another rent seeker wanting their poor management & overpaid staff subsidised by taxpayers.
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Old Nov 18, 2013, 11:19 pm
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Originally Posted by gaia
Amazing that Qantas CEO wants government to intervene to stop Virgin from competing with them. Like the car industry, another rent seeker wanting their poor management & overpaid staff subsidised by taxpayers.
I'd be doubtful of the second bit for the most part.

Ridiculous that they don't think they can compete. Is he unable to cope in the big, bad world of air travel when he has a substantially captive market audience, or is he also not aware he owns JetStar?
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Old Nov 18, 2013, 11:54 pm
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I can understand the disadvantage that this puts Qantas at. The solution is obvious - free Qantas from the Qantas Sale Act (or similar name) and allow it to get money from whoever it wants. Having Qantas as a 'national carrier' does not seem relevant in this day and age.

Hamstringing Virgin in the same way Qantas is would be crazy.
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 12:54 am
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Hypothetically; had Qantas asked to be freed from the Qantas Sale Act a year ago (prior to this debacle), do you think there would've been outcry from some of the Australian general public slamming Qantas for losing it's Australian "identity" (or so to speak)?
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 2:00 am
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Originally Posted by im.daniel
Hypothetically; had Qantas asked to be freed from the Qantas Sale Act a year ago (prior to this debacle), do you think there would've been outcry from some of the Australian general public slamming Qantas for losing it's Australian "identity" (or so to speak)?
There were debates about the Qantas Sale Act around the time of the whole striking crew and QF grounding issue.
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 7:56 am
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perhaps Qantas would be happy to allow VA to hold the 'National Carrier' status and be free of their restrictions?
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 8:50 am
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Originally Posted by im.daniel
Hypothetically; had Qantas asked to be freed from the Qantas Sale Act a year ago (prior to this debacle), do you think there would've been outcry from some of the Australian general public slamming Qantas for losing it's Australian "identity" (or so to speak)?
I thought that was one of the possible resolutions that Qantas did in fact ask for?
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 9:35 am
  #8  
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Originally Posted by Falcs
I thought that was one of the possible resolutions that Qantas did in fact ask for?
And QF has been asking for this for years. It wasn't only during the recent dispute - that simply made the QF position higher profile again for a while.
Originally Posted by VH-RMD
perhaps Qantas would be happy to allow VA to hold the 'National Carrier' status and be free of their restrictions?
What "national carrier" status does QF hold, other than in the public's imagination? Does QF have any special status or benefits?
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 3:31 pm
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Should be one set of rules same for both airlines.
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 6:58 pm
  #10  
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Originally Posted by gaia
Amazing that Qantas CEO wants government to intervene to stop Virgin from competing with them. Like the car industry, another rent seeker wanting their poor management & overpaid staff subsidised by taxpayers.
What rent seeking? Qantas has been a disaster as an investment since it floated. Compare it something like the CBA which floated around the same time. There's your rent seeker.
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Old Nov 19, 2013, 7:50 pm
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Originally Posted by gaia
Amazing that Qantas CEO wants government to intervene to stop Virgin from competing with them. Like the car industry, another rent seeker wanting their poor management & overpaid staff subsidised by taxpayers.
Seriously? There's just so much in this post that is entertainingly inaccurate and biased that I wouldn't know where to begin on it. But I do thank you for the chuckle.
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Old Nov 20, 2013, 12:44 am
  #12  
 
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Originally Posted by VH-RMD
perhaps Qantas would be happy to allow VA to hold the 'National Carrier' status and be free of their restrictions?
Yes, Qantas is the largest and most prominent airline in Australia and it was previously owned by the Commonwealth government.
However, does it currently hold any 'formal' national carrier status?
Note that I'm not talking about their natural prominence due to their larger market share, which wouldn't be something they would just pass on to VA anyway. I'm talking about any official status with tangible benefits, e.g. government guarantees, official subsidies, formalised preferential treatment etc.

I don't think it has such a formal status and gets any tangible benefits either. Happy to stand corrected.
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Old Nov 20, 2013, 4:39 am
  #13  
 
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Originally Posted by gypsyinabigtown
Yes, Qantas is the largest and most prominent airline in Australia and it was previously owned by the Commonwealth government.
However, does it currently hold any 'formal' national carrier status?
Note that I'm not talking about their natural prominence due to their larger market share, which wouldn't be something they would just pass on to VA anyway. I'm talking about any official status with tangible benefits, e.g. government guarantees, official subsidies, formalised preferential treatment etc.

I don't think it has such a formal status and gets any tangible benefits either. Happy to stand corrected.
Probably just protection in terms of restrictions on foreign ownership of domestic carriers (largely bypassed anyway) and some fifth freedom protections on the trans pacific route?
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Old Nov 20, 2013, 9:27 am
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Falcs
Probably just protection in terms of restrictions on foreign ownership of domestic carriers (largely bypassed anyway) and some fifth freedom protections on the trans pacific route?
Those protections are not restricted to QG, they also apply to VA (and UA and DL on the LOTFAP side of the equation), so it is not a way of the gum'mint protecting/assisting QF, but protecting/assisting Australian and US carriers.

Dave
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Old Nov 20, 2013, 2:03 pm
  #15  
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Originally Posted by thadocta
Those protections are not restricted to QF, they also apply to VA (and UA and DL on the LOTFAP side of the equation), so it is not a way of the gum'mint protecting/assisting QF, but protecting/assisting Australian and US carriers.
Australia (and NZ) are 1 of the few (stupid) governments that allow airlines to be up to 51% ~ 100% foreign owned & controlled. Just try starting a 100% (or 51%) Australian owned airline in the land of the free & paranoid (USA) or China or the middle east
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