Qantas won’t go under, Joe Hockey claims

Qantas is not in danger of going under, according to shadow treasurer Joe Hockey, in comments made following a warning the company can’t compete with its middle-eastern counterparts.

Qantas has reportedly warned that it cannot compete against Etihad Airways if it doubles its stake in Virgin – it’s reported to be seeking a 10% holding.

“I don’t think it’s going to go under if Etihad increases their stakeholding,” Hockey told the Seven Network.

“Already Air New Zealand and Richard Branson have much larger stakes as foreign investors in Virgin than Etihad.”

However, Hockey did say the country has hard decisions to make about Qantas’ future.

“We have to make a decision about whether Qantas does become a major international airline with a majority ownership overseas,” Hockey said.

This article first appeared on SmartCompany.