Jake Nelson

The news comes just over a year after Transport Minister Catherine King controversially blocked the expansion of Qatar flights into major Australian airports – a decision that Virgin, a codeshare partner of Qatar, criticised.

Speaking to ABC’s Four Corners, Sharp, who took over as chairman after the ousting of former executive chairman Lim Kim Hai, said the board had worked out a “rescue package” for the airline’s beleaguered domestic arm that involved offloading it in its entirety to its larger rival.

The airline plans to operate a third daily A330-300 service from 30 March next year, which will allow it to switch its daily Brisbane and Melbourne flights – currently operating to Narita – to Haneda instead. It currently flies twice daily to Haneda from Sydney.

The Australian has reported that no single buyer has come forward, according to the source, though a number of items – including a small house near Sydney Airport, the airline’s 737 flight simulator, and an inventory of spare parts – have been sold to provide some extra cash.

Flight QF63 departed Sydney for Johannesburg on board VH-OQH at 10:20am on Monday, with Qantas saying the inaugural flights were fully booked in both directions. This is the first time any carrier has flown A380 services between Australia and South Africa.

The line maintenance staff, who are responsible for towing and marshalling aircraft as well as performing turnaround checks, joined existing strike action by engines and components maintenance workers.