Qantas steps up campaign against Virgin November 19, 2013 - 3:13PM Qantas has asked its 30,000 staff and their families and friends to support its campaign against the foreign ownership of rival Virgin Australia. The airline has set up an online petition against the "unfair playing field" it says is created by the growing stake in Virgin Australia held by its three major shareholders - Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways. "For 18 months Virgin has been losing money, driven by a strategy of setting uncompetitively low prices to win customers off Qantas across all our flying businesses," Qantas says on the website. Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has already written to the prime minister to call for an examination of the "virtual takeover" of Virgin Australia by the foreign airlines. Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways currently own 63 per cent of Virgin Australia, and that could soon increase to almost 70 per cent as the airline issues new shares to raise $350 million. Qantas' protest against Virgin Australia's ownership comes just over a week since it announced the closure of its heavy maintenance base in Avalon, resulting in 300 jobs losses.