Emirates Not Planning To Buy Stake In Australian Carrier Qantas

Dubai-based Emirates Airline is not looking to own stake in Australian airline Qantas, in spite of the government’s move to relax foreign ownership restrictions on the carrier, a report says.

Canberra wants to amend ownership rules to facilitate more foreign investment, which will help Qantas raise some much-needed capital.
But the Emirates chairman, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, said his company had no plans to buy stake.

"As we stated when the partnership began, neither airline is looking to take equity stake in the other," Sheikh Ahmed told the Australian Financial Review.

In December 2013, Emirates president Tim Clark had also ruled out extending a lifeline to the Australian carrier Qantas.

As per the provisions of the partnership, both carriers can combine operations for an initial period of five years. It has also opened up Qantas' profitable domestic network of more than 50 destinations to Emirates.

Qantas had earlier sought government’s help after incurring a loss of $210 million in six months.

"We are facing some of the toughest conditions Qantas has ever seen. Australia has been hit by a giant wave of international airline capacity, with 46% increase in competitor capacity since 2009 – more than double the global increase of 21% over the same period," said Alan Joyce, chief executive of Qantas.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott agreed to amend the Qantas Sale Act, which restricts foreign ownership in the airline to not more than 49%. The bill was passed by the lower house of the parliament but it is facing hurdles in the upper house.
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