My personal feeling is that there is not as much money in operating aeroplanes as there is in leasing them. You get paid regardless of any loss they make whenever they fly.
I wonder who stands to win from leasing 100 A320s to Qantas? Must be some good coin in that little venture. Far more than a handful of 777s or a 747 fleet that was already owned. Lets not forget of course the A380s which were being purchased outright. No money in leasing the airframes there either........
Something stinks!