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Crikey readers have their say.

Qantas and its natural enemy, Virgin Australia, are rolling out a massive and costly bidding war to retain or gain the customers that matter, the ones who fly frequently.

Crikey readers have their say.

Qantas is prepared to threaten the Australian economy and thus has the government over a barrel. But it’s confirming Australians’ growing resentment of corporations.

Yesterday’s decision by Fair Work Australia to terminate the fractious Qantas dispute gives the lie to the continuing criticism from business about the Fair Work Act somehow being pro-union.

Fair Work Australia has ordered the termination of all industrial action in the Qantas disputes, meaning the airline will be required to resume flights as soon as possible, writes Ben Sandilands.

On the question of how to handle the Qantas disputes there are no easy choices for Labor, but Alan Joyce’s act of industrial terrorism is a superb opportunity for a government under siege, writes Bernard Keane.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has told Alan Kohler on ABC’s Inside Business that grounding flights would bring ‘certainty’ to customers and that the airline’s business travellers have strongly endorsed its action. A union spokesperson has called this ‘insane’, reports Ben Sandilands.

With calls to save Qantas from “Asianisation” outside, and at times angry attacks on management defence of its decisions inside, the Qantas AGM turned nasty.

Qantas is grounding five domestic jets (four 737s and one 767) from Monday, effectively cancelling 97 flights a week in a move its group CEO Alan Joyce says will allow it to maintain schedule reliability across the rest of its network.

This was possibly the first corporate results press conference in Australia in which a CEO invoked Elvis Presley and UFOs at Roswell.

Qantas group CEO Alan Joyce has told the full year financial results conference that there has been no takeover bid of any nature either formal or informal made to the company, writes Ben Sandilands.

Crikey readers have their say.

The political dimension of the Qantas restructuring had a high-noon blast-off in Canberra today when members of all parties held a press conference with key Qantas unions officials.

Since its pilots voted overwhelmingly to support any union call for lawful or protected industrial action, Qantas management has started arguing with its pilots about its plans to restructure the airline group rather than their pay claims for a tiny 2.5% three-year pay deal.

Telling Australians that Qantas needs to be less Australian to be successful is not a winning message.

Qantas has announced cutbacks in fleet growth, suspension of some flights by its main brands, and unspecified management job losses.