"The deal between Qantas and Emirates will strengthen Qantas' international operations, " said Siva Govindasamy of Flightglobal.

BBC: Singapore Airlines increases stake in Virgin Australia

"The greatest obstacle is the refusal by the aircraft's manufacturer -- formerly British Aerospace-Aerospatiale, now Airbus -- to lend its support to a restoration, " said aviation journalist David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal.com.

CNN: Can plan to fly Concorde again get off the ground?

"The company, which was hip-deep in sorting out A380 development, simply hadn't foreseen the huge pent-up demand for a more efficient 250-seat airliner, and tried to take the easy way out by offering a re-engined version of its A330, " aviation journalist David Kaminski-Morrow, air transport editor of Flightglobal.com, told CNN in an earlier report.

CNN: Airbus rolls out new A350 XWB