In The National Interest

The Notion of a ‘flag Carrier’ is Particularly Unique to the Airline World, but One That Seems Firmly Entrenched in the Broader Public’s Mind. But Qantas Hasn’t Been Government Owned Since 1994, and Despite Very Astutely Playing Off Its Australian Identity and Tremendously Strong Brand, is No More Deserving of Special Government Protection or Expectations, Than Any Other Australian Based Airline or Company.

However Today We Have a ‘half Pregnant’ Scenario Where Qantas is a Privatised Company but Both the Government and the Public, Through Regulation and Convention, Have Expectations of It Beyond the Norm. The Public Wants ‘their’ Airline to Be a Kind of Public Utility, to Be There in Case of National Emergencies and Providing a Level of Service to Regional Communities. And Between Government and Qantas There Almost Seems to Be Some Kind of Compact, That the Government Keeps in Place Regulations That Help Qantas (Such as Not Freeing the Pacific Route to Competition From Singapore Airlines), in Return for a Certain Level of Service to Regional Australia, and for Keeping Engineering and Maintenance Jobs in the Country but Qantas is Big Enough That It Doesn’t Need the Protection. Using Its Brand and Levels of Service It Competes Effectively on the Kangaroo Route to Europe and Across the Tasman, Some of the Most Competitive Airline Markets in the World. At a Regional Level the Profitability and Success of Regional Express Demonstrates That Qantaslink Regional Services Are Viable in Their Own Right.

If Nothing Else, the Debate Over the Insand- Outs of the Qantas Private Equity Deal Should Highlight to Government the Need for Much More Transparent Policy Guidelines for the Airline Industry. Beyond That It Should Put in Place Policy Settings (Such as Accelerated Depreciation Rates for Aircraft) That Allow Qantas to Be Best Placed as a Key Player in the Continuing Rationalisation of the Global Airline Industry. An Australian Based Global Airline Player Would Definitely Be in the National Interest.

As to the Merits of the Private Equity Deal Itself – Buyer Beware. Debt Laden Airlines Have a History of Failure. The Airline Industry Would Recover, as Demonstrated by the Ansett Collapse, but Any Debt Laden Collapse of Qantas Would Be Catastrophic for the Company’s 30,000 or So Employees. They Have the Most to Lose and Probably the Least to Gain From This Deal of the Decade.

More Lift

in the Military There is No Such Thing as Too Much Airlift Capacity. So January’s Announcement That Airbus Has Launched Development of the A330-200f Freighter Should Be Good News for the Raaf.

The Raaf Has Five Airbus A330-200 Based Kc-30b Tanker Transports on Order. But as Up Until Now No Freighter Variant of the A330 Has Been Developed, the Kc-30s Will Be Delivered With Passenger Interiors on Their Main Decks.

The Launching of a the A330‑200f Provides Hope That at Some Stage Airbus Will Offer an A330 Freighter Retrofit Program. When That Happens It Would Make an Awful Lot of Sense for the Raaf to Puts Its Kc-30s Through Such a Program as It Will Greatly Increase Adf Airlift Flexibility.

With the Looming Retirement of the F-111, as Tankers the Kc-30s Will Play a Crucial Role in the Projection of Raaf Airpower. But Tankers Are Not Used as Such All the Time, and Converting the Kc-30s So They Can Carry Cargo on Their Main Decks Will Help Extract Maximum Value From the Government’s $1. 8 Billion Dollar Investment in the Type, Even if the Cost of Conversion Per Aircraft is Around $10 Million.

Airbus Says the A330-200f Will Be Able to Carry a 64 Tonne Payload Over 4000nm (7410km). That’s a Bit Less Than What a C-17 Can Carry, and an A330/kc-30 Can’t Lift Bulky Items Like Helicopters and Apcs, but It Would Represent a Substantial Boost in Lift. And the Kc-30 Flies Faster and Further Than the C-17.

Best of All, the Kc-30s Could Relieve the C-17s of the Need to Carry General Bulk Cargo, Freeing Up the C-17s, Which Are Likely to Be in Continual Heavy Demand – for Lifting Oversize Equipment. That Will Help the Raaf Get Best Value Out of the $2 Billion the Government is Investing in the C-17 Fleet.

A Fleet of C-17s, Kc-30s, and C-130js Would Mean a Very Capable, Flexible Airlift Fleet for the Future.