Qantas Airways is all set to finalise a code-sharing agreement with Emirates Airlines, which reports said would provide a wider gateway for the national carrier to secure more profitable routes in Europe.

The Australian reported on Friday that the two companies will wrap up the deal by first week of September, which Qantas hopes would boost ongoing efforts to turnaround its flagging international operations.

By virtue of the Qantas-Emirates agreement, Australia's biggest airline will be allowed access on existing Emirates routes in South Africa and Europe, which the number between 30 and 50 destinations spread over the two regions, according to a Friday report by The Australian Business Traveller.

In exchange, Qantas will be obliged to open some of its domestic routes for the Dubai-based carrier, though the former will keep control of flights servicing Australia's key cities, News Ltd said.

The new development, according to Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce, is part of the company's finetuning tactics that aim to arrest constant bleeding on the international business, blamed mainly on weak market condition and the increasing costs of aviation fuel.

The core strategies on Qantas's drawing boards are operational restructuring and seeking alliances with prospective partners, which in this specific case is represented by Emirates, Mr Joyce said.

"Going forward those benefits that we've got from that restructuring should start coming through from international so we do believe the worst is behind us and there is an inflexion point," the Qantas CEO told The Australian last week.

Qantas has projected to realise savings of up to $300 million once the underway turnaround measures have been completed, Mr Joyce added.

Further savings by the company should be in the ledger too through fiscal year 2015 as Qantas also announced last week that it has cancelled its $US8.5 billion order for 35 brand-new Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

The decision was made following Qantas' admission, also last week, that it lost about $450 million on its international operations as of June 2012, which is en route to the company registering a net loss of $244 million.

Mr Joyce has expressed optimism that the deal with Emirates would stem Qantas' recent slides and would pit the company head-to-head with the surging Virgin Australia, which had earlier forged a 'revenue-sharing' arrangement with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad.

Virgin's deal, however, is more far-reaching, according to The Australian Business Traveller, which should be a bit of an advantage over Qantas in terms of revenue promises.

Nonetheless, Qantas' new business setup with Emirates should open up more opportunities for the struggling airline in the international arena, given its current limited flight access as far as European destinations are concerned.