China Southern will launch at least seven international flights this year as part of a new emphasis on building up services to other countries to support and exploit its domestic network, China's largest. Most of the new services will also take advantage of the location of China Southern's Guangzhou hub as the most convenient gateway into China for cities south of the country. The company has previously taken a fairly conservative approach to international expansion.

Qantas Airways CEO Geoff Dixon will remain in his post until at least July 2009 in a move to create some stability within the airline following a failed $11 billion takeover bid. Dixon and other members of senior management agreed to stay with the airline for two more years and will lead the company in a strategy that right now has it turning its attention to increased competition.

Unprofitable China Eastern Airlines risks losing its independence, and perhaps disappearing altogether, as a takeover by Air China emerges as an alternative to the foreign partnership that the struggling carrier has been trying to achieve. For the moment, China Eastern is still pushing ahead with the partnership talks, even trying to make itself more attractive to a strategic investor by seeking leniency from the 25% limit on any foreign shareholder's stake.