Actually I think Qantas should "wet lease" their lounges - especially London as American Airlines (if they go back to 3) are at a big disadvantage to UA , BA , VS or DL - lounge wise so having a better lounge might be of use to them. Also Singapore with T4 closed CX need a lounge.

The advantage of the -800 over the max is cost . When whichever state closes its borders and you need to ground the fleet - it's a lot cheaper to ground 12 year old 737s than brand new ones.

The underlying assumption is borders will be open by then & as WA have indicated interstate borders will remain closed till well into 2022 , the likelihood looks slim. Even then the fact Qantas are looking at upgrading the 330-200 range for trans Pacific might mean this is just a marketing gi...