Two airlines in two months!
Who's next?
Who's next?
More here: http://finance.news.com.au/story/0,10166,18776751-462,00.htmlQANTAS'S first Asian expansion play has proved a failure, with the flying kangaroo expected to announce today the axing of its Cairns-based leisure brand, Australian Airlines.
Australian's distinctive ochre planes will be repainted and returned to Qantas mainline operations from mid-year as the company concentrates on launching its low-cost Jetstar International.
It is understood Qantas officials believe Australian's demise was necessary to wipe the slate clean and allow it to concentrate on its twin-brand philosophy.
The decision to drop the Australian brand will be announced at a press conference in Melbourne today which will also reveal Jetstar's international routes to Asia.
Job losses among the airline's staff of more than 400 are expected to be negligible, with most staff being absorbed by the mainline operations.
The five all-economy Boeing 767s will be converted to two-class configurations and the airline is expected to retain Australian's base in Cairns.
Qantas announced in February it was restructuring its management and that it would group its flying businesses under the Jetstar and Qantas brands.
Jetstar is about to formally seek approvals to fly the routes from November and to change its air operators certificate to fly widebody, two-class A330 aircraft.