I know for a fact that Geoff Dixon is in Dubai talking to Emirate Airlines today. Strange for a man who has for the past 2 years belittled Emirates on a daily basis no matter who the audience is! He is also pushing ahead with divesting Qantas, the core airline, of Qantas Flight Catering and is looking for a joint venture partner to take over Qantas engineering and maintenance, Jetstar and the regional airlines he currently has as part of the Qantas group. The reason Geoff is in Dubai is to stitch up a deal with Emirates, based on the assumption that if you can’t beat them, then join them!

Believe me, this is true. Singapore Airlines are now off the radar screen as the imagined synagies do not exist and they have their own problems.

More importantly, the federal government’s review of aviation policy looks like it is totally against Qantas now that the Minister for Qantas, John Anderson, has gone. I believe DFAT, Transport and Tourism are all combined in trying to lessen Qantas’ tenuous grip on major routes like the Pacific route and are keen to get some real competition going. Also Dame Margaret is absolutely enamoured with Peter Gregg as the next CEO of Qantas which is probably the reason John Borghetti and Dixon are at loggerheads.

Believe me this is all true. Watch this space to see how and when Emirates will link up with Qantas in the not too distant
future…