Australia’s competition regulator on Monday denied authorisation for Qantas Airways and Japan Airlines (JAL) to coordinate flights between the two countries, citing competition concerns as international travel is set to resume.
See also: Qantas Airbus A380s will resume flying from July 2022.
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) Chairman Rod Sims said the regulator was not satisfied that the public benefits of the proposed joint business agreement would outweigh harm to competition, Reuters reports.
“Preserving competition between airlines is the key to the long-term recovery of the aviation and tourism sectors, once international travel restrictions are eased,” he said in a statement.
See also: Aeroflot suspends pilots who refused vaccinations.
The agreement – which would allow the airlines to coordinate fares and schedules – would make it very difficult for other airlines to operate on routes between Australia and Japan, ACCC said.
“Virgin Australia told the ACCC that it would be more difficult to enter the Australia-Japan route if it is required to compete with Qantas and Japan Airlines acting jointly rather than as individual competing airlines, ” the regulator said.
Qantas and JAL expressed disappointment with the ACCC decision in a joint statement on Monday, though they said they would continue their codeshare arrangements and oneworld alliance partnership.
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