[tomhoward]

Virgin won't get special treatment, but the Australian government, like all governments, will give the whole commercial aviation industry concessions and benefits to help keep it afloat, as it is of importance for economic and security reasons.

It's a different scenario to when Ansett went under, as back then the problem was isolated to Ansett, and the industry was still fundamentally strong (due in part to the entrance of Virgin, which at that stage was an up-and-coming low-cost carrier with solid backing from Branson and other early investors).

The AU government wasn't willing to bail VA out of insolvency, but now that a private buyer has come in to restructure it, it will be able to get the same benefits as Qantas.