Aussie panel to reject carriers’ pact
Print Edition
AUSTRALIA’S consumer watchdog yesterday said it planned to reject a proposal by Qantas and China Eastern to more closely coordinate their operations, saying it will harm competition.
The airlines already have a code-sharing agreement and last year proposed a joint venture to better coordinate scheduling and pricing.
But with the two carriers accounting for more than 80 percent of capacity on the key Sydney-Shanghai route, which makes up nearly a quarter of all direct Australia to China flights, the regulator said it was not in favor. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said it would “likely result in significant public detriment.”
“The ACCC understands Qantas’ desire to form an alliance with a Chinese airline to establish a gateway to Northeast Asia,” ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.
“However, the ACCC’s concern is that they have chosen to do so with their main competitor on the one route between Australia and China on which Qantas operates direct flights.”
He added: “Competition between them will be greatly reduced under the proposed agreement.”
Under its plan, Qantas would have a presence at China Eastern’s terminal in Shanghai, improving convenience for its passengers transferring to another flight. In turn, China Eastern would have better sales abilities in Australia, according to the carriers’ application to the regulator in November.
“The ACCC currently considers that these limited benefits will not outweigh the significant public detriment likely to result from Qantas and China Eastern coordinating their services on the Sydney-Shanghai route,” said Sims.
The watchdog was seeking submissions from interested parties regarding the draft determination before a final decision was made.
The Australian watchdog’s intervention comes as airlines seek alliances to service China’s growing aviation market.
On Monday, Air China and Air New Zealand announced they planned to work together on a new Beijing-Auckland route, subject to regulatory approval, complementing their existing code-share on Shanghai-Auckland flights.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
