Virgin Australia could soon open its doors for foreign investors to come in, with reports that the Richard Branson-controlled airline is nearing completion on efforts to remove ownership caps.

According to BusinessDay, Virgin is in the process of tearing down the foreign ownership barrier, which limits non-Australians from owning more than 49 per cent holdings in the carrier.

Prior to that, Mr Branson's firm had decided to separate its international and domestic operations - the former suffering from profit bleeds due to soaring jet fuel costs and dwindling ridership while the latter pretty much earning the keep for the airline.

Analysts with positive outlook, expressing excitement that Virgin paves the way for the likely entry of additional funds that the company can greatly utilise, coming from sources that previously would not be available.

"By splitting the domestic and international business, they have opened their register to forms of capital that aren't available to them at the moment," industry analyst Rod Eddington told BusinessDay.

"It gives offshore investors options to invest now," Mr Eddington added.

And three likely candidates have emerged, media report said, as possible candidates for dipping their fingers once Virgin comes into play - Air New Zealand, Etihad and Singapore Airlines, with the first flagged by market watchers as the strongest contender.

For one, analysts said, Air New Zealand is an existing partner of Virgin on the strength of its 20 percent stakes on the Aussie airline that according to BusinessDay was acquired last year for $240 million.

Air New Zealand chief executive James Hogan was not exactly unabashed on his intentions to raise his company's role on Virgin, specifically on its domestic services, which incidentally lies within Mr Hogan's ongoing efforts of extending Air New Zealand's reach through strategic acquisitions.

Hogan had presided over the company's recent acquisitions in Europe, BusinessDay said, and is currently positioning to possibly win a number of seats on Virgin's board in the event that the hurdles have been cleared for new players and investors to come in.

It is likely too, BusinessDay wrote, that Air New Zealand could sue for a merger of equals, which is short of a takeover scenario that observers said only suits well for the Wellington-based airline.

But Mr Hogan must first convince company shareholders that Air New Zealand will not again be burnt as in the case of the bungled Ansett deal that largely led to the departure of his predecessor late last year, analysts said.

Should that would fail to materialise, Singapore Airlines could be next in line but BusinessDay said, citing unidentified sources, the company would only get serious on Virgin if Mr Branson would agree to sell his shares, which could come with a hefty price tag.

Nonetheless, "if Branson was to be a seller, it might be more interesting for Singapore, but while he is there it is likely to be a stalemate," the BusinessDay source said.

Etihad for the most part is now regarded as a spoiler, whose keen interest of the Australian market has been well established though its actions will be limited by core agenda that veers away from spending cash on equities or forging alliances.