Other major flight operators such as American Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Qantas, and United Airlines have also sought out prominent chefs in recent years as they attempt create a fine-dining experience in the sky.
Airlines planning to operate the A380 at Heathrow include Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Virgin Atlantic, Qantas, Qatar Airways and Malaysia Airlines.
Qantas said China Eastern Airlines is China's second largest airline in terms of passengers carried.
Qantas, American Airlines and seven other international carriers place Unicef envelopes in their seat back pockets.
Australia's Qantas Group and China Eastern Airlines have agreed to launch a new budget carrier for the Chinese market.
"We see tremendous potential for the Qantas Group in Asia and we are looking forward to working more closely with China Eastern Airlines to deliver on it, " Alan Joyce, Qantas' chief executive officer said.
Unlike the many airlines that have since followed suit (Qantas, Thai Airways, Aeromexico and Jetstar, to name a few), Air Baltic ultimately dropped the program.
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Analysts said that Singapore Airlines was keen to ensure that the Qantas and Emirates deal did not hurt its market share and that its deal with Virgin was an attempt towards countering that partnership.
Such ties have usually hobbled low-cost airlines elsewhere: incumbents hate to cannibalise their own business. (Australia, where Qantas owns Jetstar, is an exception.) Analysts say the upstarts will thrive only if ANA and JAL step out of their way, letting them shake up the domestic tourist market.
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