An ordinary bidder’s statement is supposed to be from the would-be buyer to the potential seller, telling the seller why it would be a good idea to take the money.

The Airline Partners Australia effort released this morning is not an ordinary bidder’s statement.

Oh, yes, some of the 96 glossy pages to be sent to Qantas shareholders will mention that the offer price of $5.60 is final, that it’s a big premium on what the stock was trading at and that the price wil fall sharply if the offer doesn’t come off – but most of the document is aimed at everyone except shareholders.

There seems to be nothing new in the thing, just assurances about “intentions” to maintain technical Australian ownership, jobs, routes, safety standards and investment, but it will look good on the desks of the politicians it’s aimed at. The main Qantas shareholders really don’t care much about any of that.

What everyone was hoping to see though was something like a coherent explanation of how the APA mob will actually make their highly geared investment work. Instead, in the accompanying press release there was this:

How will Airline Partners Australia make Qantas a better airline?

Airline Partners Australia will bring a patient approach to investment and new owners with substantial, proven experience in the aviation industry.

Airline Partners Australia backs completely the current Qantas management team and their growth plans for the company.

Airline Partners Australia’s plans for Qantas include support for a $10 billion investment program over the next 5 years and 70 new aircraft to be introduced by 2014 to increase capacity by around 40 %.

This will deliver improved customer service, more choice and new employment opportunities.

So there you go, “trust us, we have money”.

Glenda Korporaal poses 10 questions in today’s Oz that politicians might like answered about this deal. The statement provides plenty of intentions, but doesn’t answer the questions.

The whole exercise in massaging Canberra though begs the question of whether the government should be concerned. There’s much more emotion than sense when it comes to the Flying Roo. The APA offer ticks all the boxes of existing law and therefore should be allowed to fly, so to speak – and the government should stop being tricked into giving it extra protections.

If the privateers get it wrong and go broke, there are plenty of other airlines that would willingly fill the market opportunity. And Qantas would be no means become the first airline to be reborn out of a receivership.