Let’s look at the nostalgic aspect of this ‘flying again’ tale of Ansett, the former top airline that was so competitive with Qantas that it sponsored the AFL and the Sydney 2000 Olympics. However, two years later it went bust and disappeared!

While the Ansett comeback sounds historically nice, have no fear that this looks like another third airline bound to fail, like the likes of Compass, Bonza, OzJet and Tigerair. And is REX still alive?

No, the new Ansett is an AI-powered travel agency, which is giving us a sneak preview of what’s set to happen to business and jobs in the future coming down the time tunnel.

The brainwave of Melbourne entrepreneur Constatine Frantzeskos, here’s what The Australian says he has released on Linkedin: “Ansett is back – reborn as Australia’s first truly AI-run travel agency. I registered the trademark, created a fleet of AI agents, and – thanks to a tech integration with Travlr – have now turned Ansett into a one-founder online travel agency.”

Frantzeskos says this AI-driven operation will personalise your experience, talk different languages, predict prices and seek better deals. And it makes you wonder if an AI agent will be able to scan the internet better than a human. And will this agent have deals with hotel providers that give them a clip of the ticket?

On the other hand, experienced travellers argue that a travel agent who has actually travelled to Bordeaux or Morocco might have more insights if they’re a yuppy and the client is a yuppy!

Frantzeskos’ website says Ansett operates with 500 airlines and three million hotels, which is bound to attract many price-conscious DIY travellers!

Historically I’ve avoided doing stories on start-ups. While I did make exceptions for Aussie Home Loans and Wizard in the early 1990s, these guys were taking on the big banks and offering great cuts in interest rates. While I’m not sure if Ansett will be as big a name as these two businesses in their time, it definitely shows what all businesses and employees need to be aware of.

Last Thursday I attended the annual dinner for the Association of Independent Insolvency Practitioners (AIIP) in Canberra. Futurist and TV host of Rebound on the Nine Network, Steve Sammartino warned us during his presentation before dinner of what AI and its buddy robots will mean for jobs and businesses.

Surgeons, tradies, lawyers, bookkeepers, journalists, administration workers and a surprising list of employees and businesses will be threatened.

On his website, Sammartino tells us what to expect from AI: “Businesses can now optimise operations and drive innovation like never before. Thanks to recent advances in Artificial Intelligence. AI is set to become a business ally for organisations quick, smart and brave enough to embrace it. It’s possibly the most important technology in human history, and there isn’t an industry it won’t affect.”

While this shows AI will be a plus for businesses, in age when employers are threatened by the work-from-home demands from employees, government red tape, the Fair Work Commission supporting employee stress, harassment and bullying claims, the spiking of worker’s compensation insurance premiums, government red tape and payroll tax (which punishes a business for giving people jobs), an AI ‘worker’ looks appealing.

Frantzeskos said: “We’re not trading on nostalgia – we’re reviving a trusted name and giving it a new identity: intelligent, intuitive, and value-driven.”

And all these offerings equal threats to employees and competing businesses and this is a preview of what lies ahead.

Of course, there’ll be teething problems, which travellers discovered when they started using the internet to holiday overseas. I recall one Australian tourist wanted to go to Birmingham in the UK and ended up in Birmingham Alabama! Even today, when you arrive in Vienna’s airport in Austria, there are T-shirts that say: “There are no kangaroos in Austria!”