Ansett Australia collapse: a strategic analysis reveals a chain of events grounded the airline

Abstract

The collapse of Ansett Australia on 14 September 2001 had an immediate impact on the nation's tourism industry both through the loss of capacity as well as financial hardship caused to the many operators who relied on Ansett and its subsidiaries. The real cost of the Ansett collapse has been difficult to measure. It affected tourism businesses, businesses not directly engaged in tourism and customers including holders of Ansett Frequent Flyer Points. Ansett failed to adapt to a changed environment and this paper examines the factors that lay behind the collapse including the impact of the Federal Government's deregulation policies and poor decision making in the organisation.