Despite Qantas management's support for the A$11.1bn ($8.7bn) bid for the airline, unions, some politicians and many Australians remain opposed to the deal.

As reported already, the offer is being made by a consortium comprising the Australian investment firms of Allco Equity Partners, Allco Finance Group and Macquarie Bank, plus overseas firms which include Texas Pacific and Onex of Canada.
But there are conditions for any takeover of the airline under the Qantas Sale Act. Two thirds of any new Board of Directors must be Australians and no foreign company can own more than 15% in the airline. At the same time, foreign ownership of the airline cannot exceed 40%. Some analysts also believe that Macquarie should not be allowed to participate in the bid since it already owns Sydney Airport, Australia's main gateway airport.
Commentators say that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission must also approve the deal and this could take as long as six months if any difficulties are identified.