Qantas may recover from decline if Canberra relents

[SYDNEY] Whether through error or circumstance, Qantas Airways Ltd's spectacular fall from grace is giving chief executive Alan Joyce his best chance of steering the airline towards long-term salvation.

Mr Joyce has called on the Australian government to help the national flag carrier in its hour of need. If Canberra is convinced Qantas is in peril, it may have little option but to abandon decades of resistance and provide state aid.

The executive needs little help making a convincing case: Losses from a domestic price war and international competition are piling up; Qantas is now worth only half what it was when Mr Joyce took the helm in 2007; and its credit rating is now junk across the board.