Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways expects Australian and New Zealand markets to expand with increased shareholding in Virgin Australia at a time when Australia's flag carrier Qantas profit fell amid much takeover talk, according to aviation consultant Andrew Charlton.
Mr Charlton, managing director of Aviation Advocacy, said Emirates is considering a partnership with Qantas, despite denials from its president Tim Clark, according to Gulf News.
Qantas, once accounted for almost half of all Australians travelling aboard, is now down to fifth place, has been lagging behind low-cost carriers aggressively building up new generation fleets, said the report. Its apathy towards code-sharing and market-share agreements has left it open to competition.
There is speculation that a meeting of senior board members from Virgin, Etihad and Air New Zealand, which owns 20 per cent of Virgin Australia, may result in a consolidation of Gulf carrier strategy to gain equity in Qantas as it did in the case of Aer Lingus (three per cent) and airberlin (40 per cent).
In contrast, Dubai-based Emirates has lobbied for cities and extended its network bit by bit, avoiding acquisitions after getting burnt buying a 44 per cent stake in Srilankan Airlines which ended with them selling it back to the operator at a loss.