Emirates president Tim Clark has acknowledged that the challenges faced by Qantas have held back the development of the partnership between the two airlines.
Last month Qantas unveiled a A$252 million half-year loss and is dumping about 15% of its 30,000-strong workforce.
Asked by London’s Daily Telegraph whether Clark had backed the wrong partner in Qantas, the answer was a firm "No".
"I don’t think we backed the wrong horse," he said. "The partnership is doing what we thought it would do.
"Dubai has been a beneficiary. We’ve had many Australian tourists – 260,000 in the last 10 or 11 months have stopped over in Dubai."
Clark said that Qantas has had to maintain a focus on its current challenges.
"When that happens to a relatively small group, there are other things that fall slightly by the wayside.
"I’m not saying for a moment that Alan (CEO Alan Joyce) has let our relationship between the two companies and the endgame slip, it’s just that he has got quite a tough situation on his hands."
