Qantas warns government 'we could go under' Qantas said chief executive Alan Joyce and other senior executives were in Canberra this week to speak to lawmakers but would not confirm the report. "The nature of those discussions is private," a spokesman told AFP. Beside increasing its stake in Virgin Australia, state-backed Etihad has raised its position in Air Berlin to almost 30pc and owns 40pc of Air Seychelles. Mr Joyce has long complained that the Qantas Sale Act - which dictates that the airline remain majority Australian-owned and limits foreign investment - creates an uneven playing field against state-backed foreign carriers. Qantas - which was once a state-owned carrier but was fully privatised in 1995 - is losing money on its international routes and believes it is being undercut by state-owned operations such as Etihad and Singapore Airlines. Shares in the airline plunged to record lows this month after Qantas, hit by high fuel bills and industrial unrest that saw its fleet grounded for almost two days last year, warned of a huge slump in profits.