Which part are you not buying Mike? On long haul, Air NZ is under no where near the same pressure from competitors as Qantas is, due in no small part to NZ being further away and having a smaller population base. Australia on the other hand is closer to the action and a single hop away from some of the most aggressive hub carriers in the world.
You are most correct about Qantas though they do need to pull their socks up. But this is the root of their problems, their staff won't let them make the changes that they need to do to become more competative and make the money to invest in innovation. (Wasn't your United in the same boat recently too?) Classic catch 22. If I recall Air NZ was in the same boat until they were bailed out by the NZ government and were able to restructure into a unit that is better able to compete. Certainly hope Qantas doesn't go that way, and if they do I agree with Nigel that they shouldn't be bailed out. Maybe good reason why the unions should be facing reality and working to come up with a plan with Qantas management that is workable and will bring the company into the future.
Though having said that on Tasman Qantas is doing ok because they have been able to reduce their costs by using the cheaper Jetconnect.
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