It's not mentioned in that article, but earlier this week at the AGM, the CEO was granted at 71% pay rise^. They have their reasons, and while $5mil is a lot of money by most Aussie's standards some might say it's actually a lot lower than other CEO's are probably pulling in. It's certainly hard to swallow for stockholders who haven't seen a profit, and therefore a dividend, in two years.

HOWEVER: Just how out of touch with the current mood of the world do you have to be to think that a pay rise and shutting down the company are good moves at this point? Certainly there has been industrial action by three unions to a greater or lesser degree for some time now, but just how f*cked in the head do you have to be to think that this is the way to get the country on your side?

As to the core of the issue: Qantas is in a hard place. Competition, truly global competition, means they are trying to provide a service that others can provide much, much cheaper, and the passengers have been voting with their feet: there's a stat doing the rounds that says up to 80%* of all international travel is done with other lower cost airlines - a massive come down for a company that used to a have a government-given monopoly on international travel.

So this might be the deaths throes of another Aussie icon. The government may step in tonight and force an end to this particular act in the drama, but the play continues. If Qantas is forced to meet the union's demands, it is unlikely they they will be able to compete and the government may have to prop them up - but how long can that go on for? If Qantas management get their way, there will be definite pay cuts and possibly massive job losses as they do what they have to do to compete. Could the government close the skies again? Unlikely, if not impossible. Nationalise the airline? The stock price will undoubtedly open low on Monday morning, so it's be a cheap re-purchase, at least. The commentators on News24 have said that the CEO may have wanted the government to step in - because they can call a halt to all industrial action, his and the unions, that it might have been his big gamble...

Ah well. I have a flight booked with Qantas for Monday week, but it's for work and I don't really want to go anyway...

/*I can't vouch for this stat; Dick Smith has been quoting it ad nauseam but he has decided to try and make himself relevant again and so I can't say for sure it's legit.
//It's a dog's breakfast this whole thing, no doubt about it.
///Twitter is still going crazy over it, and it's gone midnight...

Uh-oh.

Indefinitely suspending flights on Qantas.

Yeah, indefinitely.

Lord of Allusions: Indefinitely suspending flights on Qantas.

Yeah, indefinitely.

Time for Wapner?

The Bestest: big news, if not the absolute biggest in Australia

No, that would be the return of Yahoo Serious.

broadsword: I've only read bits of what the CEO's plan for the airline is, but he seems to have thrown Qantas into the whole "race to the bottom" that everyone else is getting into. I can't remember the last time I talked to someone who liked air travel, so it would have been nice if they'd gone the 'quality' route.

But hey, I'm not a businessman, maybe he saw the current level of brand loyalty Qantas has in Australia as something that's going to nosedive fast regardless of what they do, so might as well try to move with the market now.

I'm not a businessman either, but I think your last statement may be near the truth.

New idea regarding Qantas: post a headline on Fark when Qantas does something right.