It appears that Australian and Kiwi airlines are currently undergoing some major changes. Pacific Blue’s recent decision to stop flying domestic routes in New Zealand was not surprising in the least and the airline has made it clear it wants to concentrate its resources in Australia on its developing head to head corporate market battle with Qantas.

All is not smooth sailing or should I say flying over at JQ, with around 400 of its pilots backing a no-confidence motion against JQ CEO Bruce Buchanan, over Jetstar's decisions to base Australian-registered aircraft in Singapore and run a pilot transfer scheme to push Australian-based pilots to accept overseas Jetstar jobs and cut their conditions.

Over at Singapore owned Tiger, the roar seems to be turning into a bit of a purr, with Tiger announcing it is suspending poorly performing services from Adelaide to the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

Do any of these changes come as a major surprise? Not really, because like any business these guys have to run profitable operations. And the maximisation of profit and shareholder return is going to be something we will be seeing increasingly in the future.

 Industry Insider Commentary and Opinion by e-Travel Blackboard’s Special Correspondent John Alwyn-Jones