Virgin Australia's John Borghetti warns government on any Qantas support Chris Bowen says Joe Hockey was irresponsible in slating changes to Qantas' foreign ownership restrictions. John Borghetti, CEO of Virgin Australia, has warned the government over any help for Qantas. VIRGIN Australia Boss John Borghetti has hit back against bigger rival Qantas in an open letter to the federal government claiming his rival's determination to maintain its 65 per cent market share is anti-competitive, and any government support should be given to both airlines. Mr Borghetti's move comes amid speculation about the future of Qantas: whether or not it falls into foreign hands; and measures the government may take to support the struggling airline. The government is expected to be asked by Qantas to provide relief in the form of debt guarantees or a share buyback of up to 10 per cent in an effort to compete with Virgin Australia. Such measures would reduce costs for the national icon as it faces an onslaught from Virgin, which is owned by Etihad, Air New Zealand and Singapore Airlines. Treasurer Joe Hockey says all options relating to Qantas' future "are on the table." Virgin has moved to head off any Qantas-only government support. "In our view, this is a strategy that prevents competition including the possibility of new entrants," Mr Borghetti said today. We strongly believe that a level playing field should include a full and proper investigation of this 65 per cent 'line in the sand' policy and ask the Australian government to divert attention to this important issue that is crippling competition and is not sustainable financially for anyone in aviation in this country. Mr Borghetti said the Qantas Sale Act was a matter between Qantas and the government, but Virgin had no objection to it being repealed. Virgin had no issue with any amendments to the legislation that allowed Qantas to mirror the share structure at Virgin, Mr Borghetti said. But he warned a "level playing field" should see any measures given by the government to Qantas also offered to Virgin. "We believe that this country needs at least two strong airlines, in order to ensure the travelling public are not faced with high airfares and restricted choice," Mr Borghetti said. Virgin Australia has succeeded against the odds, in a very difficult marketplace with a major and dominant competitor three times its size that appears intent on flushing it out of the market. If any government support was given to the dominant player, we would expect the same level of support. A government guarantee would mirror that provided to the nation's banks during the global financial crisis a move that could help protect the airline from any ratings downgrade flowing from the massive cut in profits expected by some analysts. The national carrier's debt is just one notch above junk status. Mr Hockey said a decision on the future of Qantas, which is expected to lose money this financial year, would have to be made within 12 months. "The question for Australia is: do we want to keep a national carrier and, if we do, are we prepared to pay the price that is going to come with that?" he said. The status quo is not going to work for Qantas. I think they have made that very clear. Prime Minister Tony Abbott says he has not seen a specific proposal on the future of Qantas, but wants the airline to be "strong and continuing."