How many balls can Tony keep in the air?

TravelMole makes a few predictions on who and what will dominate the news in the next 12 months.

TONY FERNANDES: AirAsia now owns a chunk of Malaysia Airlines, plus Fernandes has his hands on a Premier League soccer team and a Formula One racing outfit. Not forgetting his stake in the fast-expanding Tune Hotels budget chain. .

So how many balls can the Everywhere Man keep in the air at one time? His soccer team, Queen’s Park Rangers, is sinking fast towards relegation. Let’s hope the rest of Tony’s empire stays up.

ALAN JOYCE: For the Qantas boss, 2011 was his annus horribilis after he grounded the airline, stranding 70,000 people worldwide, in response to union industrial action.

Joyce’s decision cost Qantas $70 million but it stalled industrial unrest that had cost the airline $68 million in strikes and rolling bans, and $27 million in forward bookings.

Joyce finished his year on a high note, being granted nearly $600,000 of the airline’s shares as a performance bonus. 2012 will be make-or-break for Joyce and Qantas.

Our bet is that the Qantas mainline brand will be further diluted by the continuing rise of sibling Jetstar, the launch of Qantas’s planned ultra premium carrier, and ongoing skirmishes with the unions.

SCOOT: First in, best dressed. Singapore Airlines’ new low-cost airline, which is due to start operations with flights to Sydney in mid-year, will be a considerable threat to Jetstar and AirAsia X when it mixes Singapore Girl style with low fares. Expect Scoot to score in the budget sector.

THE LONDON OLYMPICS: Something’s wrong here? Where are the stories about unfinished stadiums? Transport woes? Beijing-type smog? It all seems to be going swimmingly for the Brits.

Our tip: the Olympic Games will give UK tourism a boost long after the Olympic flame has been extinguished.

MALAYSIA AIRLINES: Will MAS hop into bed with Qantas? Will AirAsia X give up some long-haul routes (KL to London?) in return for services to Sydney, currently blocked by MAS opposition?

The national carrier has just overhauled its management structure in preparation for major operational changes. Expect big announcements soon.

GRAB ONE: Group travel booking sites are yet another threat to travel agents’ business. And, like a kangaroo tick, they will be hard to remove. Buyer beware, though. What you pay for might not be what you get – and you may not get anything at all if that holiday villa in Bali or the restaurant in Phuket decides not to honour a deal.