Qantas is having quite a bad tine of it, what with strikes, high fuel costs, the high-value Australia Dollar, and the reorganisation of the business into different units.
So much so, Qantas has hired Macquarie Group and set up an internal team to advise on defending potential private equity bids, according to Bloomberg.
Qantas seems to wish to move into commerical arrangements with other airlines, with Emirates name being dropped in a news conference.
Emirates could if laws allow in Australia take up to 30% Qantas domestic operations if they take a decent size of the Qantas international operation.
It won’t be the first time that a Middle East Airline has jumped into the Australian aviation business – Etihad is on the march with Virgin Australia, taking a stake of 4.99% of the holding group with plans to increase the stake over time.
Emirates on the other hand love Australia, with routes from the Middle East and Asia connecting to the major cities.
If Emriates does get in, then they would need to turn around the international arm of Qantas quickly as it is bleeding money left right and centre – not a good thing for any airline.
How would this play in alliance terms? It depends on the commerical agreements. Who knows, Emirates might even consider the unthinkable to it a few years ago – joining an alliance…
Please fix the “it’s” in the post title. It should be “its”.
Thanks.
Please also refer to: http://economyclassandbeyond.boardingarea.com/2012/03/18/blog-admin-a-message-to-the-grammar-checkers-out-there/
Ian please fix the bug up your a($;: or is that its
Ar$(); ?
Dear David: Stay classy.