Emirates’ president Tim Clark expects the airline to continue its partnership with Qantas beyond the initial five-year period.
The two airlines began the partnership in March 2013 and Clark said there was “no reason why we won’t continue with the arrangement” during an interview with Gulf News.
“It’s doing really well at the moment. We are filling our aeroplanes up, they’re filling our [aeroplanes and] we’re putting a lot on their domestic network,” Clark said.
As part of the partnership deal, Qantas shifted the stopover point for its flights between the UK and Australia from Singapore to Emirates’ hub in Dubai. The tie-up also saw the end of Qantas’ long-running partnership with British Airways.
Clark added that the deal with Qantas was “really good for both companies” and that Emirates needed “more A380s” going to Australia to meet demand.
Emirates last week announced that it had chosen Rolls-Royce to provide engines for 50 new Airbus A380s. These aircraft were ordered in late 2013 but the airline had not decided on the engine manufacturer at that time.
Clark also said that Emirates would continue to grow through its existing business model and ruled out launching a low-cost operation or any mergers and acquisitions.
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