A tail of three airlines

Qantas, Virgin & Air NZ take different paths in navigating turbulent times

Studying the 2011 financial results of Australia’s and New Zealand’s major airlines reveals a tale of three airlines pursuing for three differing reasons three starkly different strategies.

Stepping back from the numbers Air New Zealand and Virgin Australia’s strategies are delivering or promise to deliver excellent outcomes but with some irony Qantas’s result while grabbing more positive headlines is the one most tenuous as it depends on workplace outcomes that are painting deep red on the weather radar.