Virgin and Qantas and Rex – oh my!

It’s been a big news week for the two major domestic airlines, with Virgin confirming long-held speculation that Qatar Airways is looking to take a 25 per cent stake (and announcing wet-leased flights to Doha), while Qantas tries to resolve engineering strikes as it increases its international capacity and launches a slick new North American ad campaign. Rex couldn’t escape the headlines either – on the ABC’s Four Corners, chairman John Sharp revealed it had tried to sell its beleaguered domestic jet arm to Virgin before it collapsed; meanwhile, no “obvious” buyers have emerged for its regional operations, according to one source. Adam and Jake digest the week’s news and what it all means for the airlines and their passengers. Plus, Air New Zealand last week briefly had the best flight deals in the skies – but were trans-Tasman flights for under $10 too good to be true?