Seems that the Singapore Airlines/QANTAS saga may take yet another turn. Quite a co-incidence that the Air Asia livery already looks very QF :-). It will be interesting to see if anything develops and what the Malaysian Government will have to say about this, Air Asia hubbed in KUL already has taken much of the domestic market from MH. http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,9011449%255E17201,00.htm l Full text below for this who do not have web access. James www.airlinesimulation.com Qantas may buy into low-cost carrier By Steve Creedy March 19, 2004 QANTAS refused to be drawn yesterday on speculation it was planning to buy into an Asian low-cost carrier and establish a base in Singapore. Rumours linking the airline with Singapore have been circulating for several weeks, possibly sparked by comments from chief executive Geoff Dixon at the half-year results. Mr Dixon confirmed that Qantas was eyeing potential airline investments beyond its bid for a 22.5 per cent stake in Air New Zealand. "We're looking at other opportunities," he said, without elaborating. Qantas is understood to have completed a feasibility study about a Singapore-based low-cost airline. A Hong Kong-based analyst said yesterday he had reason to believe Qantas and low-cost carrier AirAsia might be considering a partnership. The analyst, who did not wish to be named, said Qantas had been granted rights more than 10 years ago in return for generous access to Australian airports. "A few weeks ago now, Tony Fernandes announced that AirAsia had filed an application for a licence to establish a Singapore-based LCC," the analyst said. "We believe that the connection for the deal is AirAsia's operational consultant, who recently advised Qantas on the establishment of Jetstar, Qantas's new domestic low-cost carrier. "While AirAsia and Qantas appear strange bedfellows, they are likely to share the same view of SIA and Tiger Airways (49 per cent owned by SIA)." The analyst said an alliance between AirAsia and Qantas would form a formidable challenge to Tiger. "Moreover, two well-funded and highly competitive Singapore-based LCCs are likely to be a big headache for many other airlines operating in South-East Asia," he said. Qantas spokesman Michael Sharp said the airline did not comment on industry speculation. But other sources said they thought a deal between Qantas and AirAsia was unlikely. The Australian