The National carrier is grounded. This great Aussie Icon, "The...

The National carrier is grounded. This great Aussie Icon, "The Flying Kangaroo" currently flies no more, if that doesn't make everyone sit up and realise the seriousness of the situation, then nothing ever will.

I travel around quite a bit, where possible I use QAN these days, to take me and to bring me safely home. I have to say that generally the staff, cabin crew and pilots are extremely polite and professional in the way they go about their jobs and I have the utmost respect for them. Sure you occasionally get one of the check-in staff or CC that are having a bad day, but what industry doesn't, the vast majority of them are decent, courteous service people.

So I have utmost respect for the employees. What I have found odd and a little offensive these past few travelling months, is the message that comes over the intercom at the end of the flight, asking passengers to back the cause of the union actions. Then you have the rest of the gang on the ground that threaten to strike, or walk off at any time, then change their minds quicker than a .....

Who in their right mind, can expect an employer to sit back and watch a select few, try to tarnish or destroy a brand with blind disregard and think that there will be no eventual ramifications?

I have to add that I am also amazed by the passing at the AGM of the increase in the CEO's salary, although fair is fair, if he has met the milestones and KPI's then he must have earnt it?

From the commentary of a few in the industry, it doesn't sound like this dispute was only about salary increases though, it sounds like the icing being asked for is seriously impossible. Make no mistake, if the requests were not near impossible, why would a CEO take such drastic measures.

The Ace up the CEO's sleeve is that QAN has the Jetstar brand to continue and nurture to grow, though it will take it a while to get the brand recognition that the flying kangaroo has.

In the end, this may be another nail in the QANTAS Brand coffin, I recall what it was like with the demise of Ansett (I was stuck in South Africa for a short time during that one), they used to be my choice of airline in their day, but they could not hold the tide forever. I think that this is the point that the QAN CEO finds himself at now, no longer can he hold back the demands being placed upon him by a militant workforce, so why not bring in the Govt and show them what their industrial relations rules have helped to create?

So to end this off, to all of those hard working and decent QAN employees, who are loyally turning up to work to make the Co run like clockwork and be profitable and to all of the QAN SH's, I wish you all the very best of luck that this can be resolved in a speedy time and get this great Aussie icon back up into the air, flying us safely to our destinations, then safely home again, rather than being held to ransom by a select few who care not, if the Kangaroo ever flies again. Mop.