Emirates agreement with Qantas is 'significantly larger than any of those we pursued before'

Emirates CEO Tim Clark stated (06-Sep-2012) the carrier takes a "tailored approach" to partnerships, and the arrangement with Qantas is "significantly larger than any of those we pursued before". The carrier has codeshare partnerships with Air Malta, Air Mauritius, Japan Airlines, Jet Airways, JetBlue Airways, Korean Air, Oman Air, Philippine Airlines, South African Airways, Thai Airways, and TNT Airways, according to Innovata, and briefly codeshared with Qantas and British Airways in the 1990s. However, Emirates' size has afforded it the opportunity to go along its growth trajectory on its own and bad experience with a stake in SriLankan Airlines has made it weary of cosying up. In contrast, Etihad is nearing its 40th partnerships, and has stake in a number of carriers (Aer Lingus, Air Seychelles, airberlin and Virgin Australia) while Emirates does not and the Emirates-Qantas partnership involves no capital investment. [more - CAPA Analysis]