Qantas threatens Australia to support the Emirates deal

AirDrama: Camel Race now gets ruined by Qantas' rhetoric

Qantas' plays hardball with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) in its submission that if its deal with Emirates is rejected, it would quit its European network, and focus on profitable routes only.

It all sounds logical, but its attempts to play the nationalist card throws he argument credibility away:

"Under such a scenario Australians will lose the benefit of Qantas operating a strong locally based international network airline. This is not in the national interest."

Didn't Qantas state in its announcement that it is tying up with Emirates in a bid to stem losses? Why is Qantas now saying basically, "approve it, we'll stem some losses, not approve it, we'll stem more losses..."

Did someone really chop the Roo's head off?