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P. 6
Alan Joyce and Vanessa Hudson
remaining 75% by public float economy, rejected the author’s For the long-haul mission,
in mid-1995. attempts to persuade the the airline opted for the A380
Total proceeds exceeded airline to introduce premium and also ordered the A330 to
$4.5 billion in today’s dollars. economy and on seven occa- help transition the airline to the
Airbus world.
sions rejected the Boeing 777,
However, the management the world’s most widely used
of the airline under the late and economical long-haul To match the emerging Virgin
James Strong was pre-oc- aircraft. Blue, which boasted in 2004
cupied with melding the two that it was carrying as many
airlines together while provid- Thus, as the airline entered passengers as Ansett with a
ing shareholders a return on the new century its products third of the staff paid half the
their investment so important were outdated and aircraft not salaries, Qantas launched
product and fleet enhance- as efficient or flexible as its Jetstar.
ments were overlooked. competitors. Many airlines had tried to
Qantas was also flying under And as the new century launch a low-cost airline within
the umbrella of government started Ansett was crumbling the structure of a legacy car-
protection in the form of strictly because its seat mile costs rier but failed.
controlled bi-laterals and a were double those of the new
strong domestic exclusion Virgin Blue, which had started “
policy. operations in 1999 courtesy of
a government decision to open
While the two-airline policy the domestic market to foreign Mr Joyce was
had been dismantled, it was owned airlines. given the “mission
still a largely two-airline nation impossible” job and
and the labour market was With the collapse of Ansett in
heavily unionised and inflexi- September 2001, Qantas was succeeded in
ble as Ansett was to discover preoccupied with building its
towards the end of its life. domestic fleet as quickly as spectacular
possible and ordered 60 737s
Qantas did not embrace the which had been cancelled by fashion.”
push to seatback videos in American Airlines after 9/11.
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