Qantas is close to appointing a search firm in its hunt for a new chairman, but the appointment could take "several months" to finalise, according to outgoing chairman Margaret Jackson.

Ms Jackson, speaking to the media after addressing a business lunch in Melbourne, persisted with her view that the Qantas share price could nosedive after the failed private equity bid.

While "absolutely thrilled" at the strength of the stock, she said she had no regrets about her comment that shareholders had a "mental problem" if they doubted the price would plummet if Airline Partners Australia's AU$11 billion bid crash-landed.

"Well, it's not over until the fat lady sings," she said.

"My concern was that, if the bid failed, the share price might fall, which was what most of the commentators and advisers thought as well."

"I'm absolutely thrilled that the share price has not, which just goes to prove that chairmen and CEOs don't always know what is going to happen to their share price."

Ms Jackson will retire after the Qantas annual meeting in November.

This would help her successor avoid the situation she faced when appointed to the chairman's role seven years ago in August, only to face a "steep learning curve" as she prepared for her first annual meeting a couple of months later.

Chief executive Geoff Dixon's contract runs until 2009. While Ms Jackson's speech was titled Dodging The Stones and Avoiding The Boulders, she likened the period of her stewardship to an avalanche, with Qantas having to absorb the impact of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the US, a hike in fuel prices, wars and the SARS virus.

While the weakness of the Qantas share price had often been a matter for discussion and anxiety in board meetings, she said the industry had hit a "sweet spot" during the drawn-out takeover bid.

The share market had also risen 13 per cent.

"The boulders and pebbles were staying on the mountain," the chairman said.

Asked what her plans were, Ms Jackson, who continues to suffer from a bout of deep vein thrombosis, said her first goal was to "throw away the crutch" she was holding.

She expected the future would be "interesting, challenging and rewarding".