The proposed premium airline is expected to use A320 aircraft configured in a premium format which would be capable of flying to Darwin from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, the two cities under consideration for the home base.
Had the NT News know that the proposal was tagged "Project Darwin" within Qantas they might have been even more optimistic. The airline has been dubbed RedQ.
Qantas wants to establish a hub in Asia.
This might well be in Singapore. After all, its budget subsidiary, Jetstar, already uses the Lion City as a base for its Asian operations.
The number of flights in and out of the Territory is increasing markedly as the gas-fired economic revolution gets under way.
So far there is only one full-service international carrier with business class on the horizon - SilkAir, which will begin flights in March.
Budget airlines are fine for those of us who don't mind less service for less cost.
But there are many people, especially business people in Asia, who are put off flying to Darwin because there is not yet a full-service airline with business class covering the route.
This is clearly not good enough for a a city aspiring to be an international resources hub.
Potential investors might be forgiven for asking: If Darwin isn't good enough for a swag of full-service airlines, is it good enough for me to risk my money?
The NT Government has had much success in the past couple of months in persuading more airlines to service the Territory.
Chief Minister Paul Henderson might do worse than fly south for a chat with the boss of Qantas about this premium Asian airline and the possibility of it servicing Darwin.