Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said that Qantas needs to merge with another airline in order to be competitive. The world’s 10th largest carrier, serves as a gateway to Australia from cities across the globe. Dixon stated, ”Other airlines are starting to merge, and we must be part of that. We still are not big enough in five to 10 years to do it on our own. I believe it will be sooner rather than later.” Dixon said that the carrier does not have anyone in mind at the moment, nor specified whether the airline would buy or merge with other carriers.
Rumors have been floating around that Singapore Airlines may be thinking of teaming up with Qantas, in an attempt to gain prosperity from routes out of Sydney, specifically routes from Sydney to the United States. However Singapore Airlines CEO Chew Choon Seng ended that speculation in July, reports Forbes. Personally, I would like to see something happen between the two carriers, however Singapore Airlines is a member of the Star Alliance and Qantas maintains it’s status with Oneworld, which can constrain airlines from working with each other (but not always).
It’s my guess that Qantas is looking oversees towards the Asian sector. I’m hesitant to speculate, since it causes much debate, but I would agree that Singapore Airlines would make a great choice, for a merger, with Qantas. Cathay Pacific may also be a carrier in the sights of Qantas, yet they’re not on the same tier as Singapore. There are a few others lingering in my head, such as JAL, yet I doubt Qantas is looking for someone like them. We’ll see as time goes on.
Capacity increases for Qantas are still on schedule; 8% in 2008-2009 fiscal year. Note that Qantas recently cut 4% of its workforce.
Image: flickr.com
