According to an old maxim in Australia, there is room for two airlines here, but when a third comes along, one of them is going to fail. For decades,theAnsett Airlines andTrans-Australia Airlines (TAA) duopoly was protected by government policy (TAA was later absorbed by Qantas Airways), but when deregulation came to Australian skies in 1990, new airlines sprang up-and failed (Airways, August 2001). Compass Airlines took flight to great fanfare, and then collapsed; it was revived-in vain. Virgin Blue began-then Ansett foundered (although in the latter case there were other contributory factors-Always, June 2002). So it seems to confirm the truth of the old adage about this large country with a population of only 22.5 million.
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