Emirates and Qantas in talks about potential alliance

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “If Emirates does end up doing a deal with Qantas, you can guarantee that it will be the biggest beneficiary rather than the ailing Australian airline.

“Equally, there's no guarantee that Qantas would gain any rights to fly to Europe from Dubai - if anything, they'll have to accept a watered down codeshare on Emirates' flights but these fine details have still to be worked out, especially since Qantas has for years been dithering about having to face fact that customers do not care for connections via Singapore or Kuala Lumpur if they want to travel to Australia. The Middle East has become the travel nexus of choice and there is no way Emirates will allow Qantas to encroach its core business from its Dubai hub.”

Ahmad adds: “Qantas is in a downward spiral and is desperate to ward off losses as well as losing passengers to GCC airlines. It has little choice but to work with an Arab carrier since it is in no shape to compete directly.

“Either way, Emirates is calling the shots here. They don't need Qantas - although a deal would give them greater access to Australia, but Emirates has a big enough global business to maintain market share without worrying too much about one country.”