South African Airways (SA, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo) CEO Nico Bezuidenhout says his airline is, in the medium term, considering re-establishing a partnership with Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) as it seeks to regain a foothold in the Sydney market. Qantas terminated a 14 year-long codeshare agreement with SAA in May last year after Australia's International Air Services Commission (IASC) extended the deal's approval by only 12 months as opposed to the five years requested.

While SAA then established a codeshare agreement with Qantas' rival, Virgin Australia (VA, Brisbane International), on its profitable Johannesburg O.R. Tambo-Perth International flights, it has longed to return to Sydney Kingsford Smith.

CAPA reports the South African national carrier would ideally like to work with Qantas's existing Johannesburg O.R. Tambo-Sydney Kingsford Smith direct route 'rather than place its own metal in Sydney as either a non-stop flight from South Africa or tag on from Perth.'

However, any new partnership would have to pass IASC scrutiny and gain longterm authorization. Though the airlines had argued that the Australia-South Africa market was too thin to support additional competition, the Commission countered that the two airlines enjoyed an effective duopoly on flights between the two countries. As such, their continued partnership was stifling the entry of new carriers into the market - chief among them Virgin Australia whose Melbourne Tullamarine-Johannesburg OR Tambo Intl service lasted from December 2010 to February 2011.