Qantas (QF, Sydney Kingsford Smith) has confirmed that plans to launch a premium carrier in Singapore have been rejected by the authorities there, though this will not deter the Australian carrier's operations there, Qantas' head of International Operations, Simon Hickey, has said. Having already increased seating to the region by 40%, Hickey added that Qantas intends to tap strong growth in Asia by working closely with its low-cost arm Jetstar Asia Airways (Singapore Changi) and Jetstar Airways (JQ, Melbourne Airport) in the region but refuted speculation that this could entail setting up Qantas bases in Kuala Lumpur International and Hong Kong International. In addition to its recently announced partnership with Emirates (EK, Dubai International), the loss-making Oneworld carrier's new focus on the Asian market ("flying to Asia" as opposed to "through Asia") has begun to bear fruit with Qantas Group reporting profits in all parts of its business in the six months to the end of December, except Qantas International, which posted a before-tax loss of A$91 million (USD 96 million).