I have a friend who has bounced around in executive positions in airlines around Asia for the past 20 years that routinely fills me in on head office gossip. I trust his opinions because his network includes decision makers at all of the airlines being discussed here.

Cutting to the chase, he recently told me that QF's recent attempt to partner with HNA really pissed off CX. In spite of the fact that his current employer is a member of one of the alliances that has solid intra-China connectivity, he fully respects CX's desire to be OW's link to China.

Separately, I've been working on a project with HNA for the past year, and have learned a lot about the company in the process. Those guys have a ton of money, and seem quite happy doing things their own way... almost cowboy style (e.g. buy a hotel in some far flung city, start flying there, and hope for the best). While kissing up to CX isn't beyond the realm of possibility, this idea doesn't gel with what I understand about their corporate culture; e.g. they are immensely proud of their new HKG-LHR flight.