The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given its interim nod of approval to the Qantas and Emirates alliance as it assesses their substantive application for authorisation.
Qantas and Emirates have a five-year passenger and cargo transport alliance which is set to expire at the end of this month. With this interim extension, the two airlines can continue coordinating their passenger and cargo transport operations.
Under the existing authorization, Qantas and Emirates can coordinate their passenger and cargo operations across their respective networks, covering routes between Australia and UK/Europe, New Zealand, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa.
Both the airlines have submitted a proposal for renewal of the alliance for another five years.
“The interim authorization commences immediately and allows the parties to continue coordinating their operations while the ACCC considers and evaluates the merits of the substantive application for authorization,” Anna Brakey, ACCC Commissioner said in a statement.
“The ACCC may review the interim authorization at any time and its interim authorization decision should not be taken to be indicative of whether or not final authorization will be granted,” Brakey added.
Meanwhile, the Australian Federation of Travel Agents (AFTA) has raised concerns with the ACCC around the extension of the Emirates and Qantas’ partnership citing ‘large concentration of power within one or two operators.’
The ACCC said it may grant authorisation when it is satisfied that the likely public benefit from the conduct outweighs any likely public detriment.