Qantas may say Malaysia Airlines negotiations are over, but many more chapters still to be written

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has announced the carrier has ended strategic negotiations with Malaysia Airlines (MAS) as the two were unable to reach mutually agreeable commercial terms. This is less an ultimate ending than a very public pause for an undoubtable further round of negotiations and follows MAS' announcement that it was proceeding with its own premium airline.

Qantas had two primary strategic objectives. The first, a planned premium carrier to be based in Asia, was from the start high-profile but also faced large challenges to establish. The second, a general codeshare or further alliance to coincide with MAS joining Qantas in oneworld, was less high-profile but still strategically desirable, especially as MAS and Qantas' main local competitors, Virgin Australia and Singapore Airlines, have implemented their own tie-up.

Mr Joyce says Qantas will continue to explore joint-ventures and alliances while favouring "capital-light" options, as well as only making investments in sectors that return their cost of capital.