Alan Joyce wins gamble on Qantas grounding but now awaits market’s lasting return

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has succeeded in his gambit of grounding the airline on 29-Oct-2011 to force concessions from the three unions it is in dispute with and for the unions to end their damaging industrial action, giving passengers the certainty they can book with Qantas without potential disruptions. But now Mr Joyce awaits the market's return, hopefully permanently, to flying Qantas, affirming Mr Joyce's objective to have a short-term shock to create long-term calm.

Qantas must also now carefully calculate the maximum concessions it can extract from the three unions, and the unions from Qantas. If they ask for too much and are re-buffed with no conclusive negotiation by 21-Nov-2011, Qantas and the unions face the uncertain agreement that will be handed down to them from a government tribunal.