A level playing field?

The big end of town could learn from regional aviation

Our industry is going through an extraordinary period of adjustment. Qantas and Virgin’s bitter rivalry and determination to increase marketshare at any cost appears to be driving both companies into the long-term red. The government’s possible intervention on the Qantas Sales Act is largely welcomed by industry but any taxpayer largesse to Qantas is viewed very dimly by all. The Treasurer, Joe Hockey, has reiterated that the age of entitlement is over and that must also apply in equal measure to corporate welfare.

Qantas competes aggressively in the regional and the fly-in/fly-out (FIFO) markets through QantasLink and through its wholly owned Network Aviation that offers services to the resources industry. In short, Qantas is an Australian company competing with rival Australian companies in the regional and FIFO space. Other regional and FIFO operators are not lining up at government doors asking for help even though most are working around the clock for relatively small profit margins. They stay in business because they are safe, efficient and control their costs very carefully.