A year ago, when Qantas Airways was in dire financial straits, it was unable to bring much pressure to bear on its rivals. Instead, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Etihad Airways were able to put the squeeze on Qantas through their investment in Virgin Australia Holdings.

But now Qantas is poised to report an annual underlying pre-tax profit of $967 million – more than twice the $NZ482 million ($430 million) analysts expect from the far smaller Air NZ – the tables are turning.