It was late April this year when the local airline Bonza went through another Groundhog Day, with the low-cost airline grounded and heading for voluntary administration, crashlanding 300 workers out of a job. Now the CEO of Qantas has affirmed what we’ve already worked out — a fourth airline for Australia is ‘pie in the sky’ stuff.

History has shown three airlines i.e., Qantas, Virgin and Rex can be profitable, especially if they charge high prices to customers, but as soon as a new kid on the block lands, it’s only a matter of time before something gives.

Ansett died when Virgin Blue and Impulse Airlines started eating its lunch. Impulse has gone. So has Compass. The sad story screams: fourth airline? Go fly a kite!

New boss of the flying kangaroo, Vicky Hudson, effectively said the same thing when in Perth to launch the airlines new Perth to Paris non-stop service in 17 hours. This runs ahead of Project Sunrise, which will deliver customers a 22-hour non-stop journey from our east coast airports to New York and Europe.

Summing up our airline predicament, Hudson told those attending the launch of this Perth-Paris innovation the following: “If you think about why three airlines really struggle, it’s a number of things – our population; the US has 250 million people, we have 26 million and spread between the economics of being a viable airline, it’s incredibly challenging because it’s capital intensive.”

The SMH’s Amelia McGuire reports that Federal Transport Minister Catherine King will soon release a white paper that outlines the airline policy for the country to 2050. You have to hope the history of failed airlines and the failure of pricing policies that favour consumers means that we need a new approach to aviation in this special country, that Vanessa Hudson defined.

There needs to be better regulation such that entrants to the airline space are restricted, so airlines can be profitable but not exploitative when it comes to what they charge customers.

If the current airlines want protection from the fallout of failed airlines, then they must play fair when it comes to pricing.

Fallout from failed airlines? “Qantas and its rival Virgin Australia have poured millions into accommodating stranded Bonza passengers whose travel plans were dashed when it entered voluntary administration in April,” McGuire reminded us.

Against this, as the AFR reported late last year, you must also remember that the “…Melbourne to Sydney flight corridor has retained its status as the fifth-busiest route in the world, with more than 9.3 million travellers making the journey in 2023.” Out of that has to be scope for good profits for airlines and fair prices for customers. All we need is someone in a position of authority to make it happen!