Originally Posted by
MickG0105
The International Air Freight Assistance program was contracted off to Qantas to manage with 14 other approved sub-contractors; AMI, Cathay, CT Freight, DHL, Emirates, Etihad, FedEx, JAL, Kuehne + Nagel, Qatar, Schenker, SIA, Toll and Virgin. The assistance is Australian-facing in that it subsidises Australian producers to be able to ship consignments overseas at reduced rates to the consignor. You can argue about the mechanics but we're not subsidising foreign airlines; IFAM is simply directing business their way at commercial rates.
Subsidising is my subjective term.
For example, Qantas has no commercial international network yet others in the IFAM list do. They do have a network because of financial assistance from their respective governments.
Its not commercial.
However if the Australian Government assistance package selects a foreign carrier then that puts money into their coffers. I would call that a subsidy! Others may not.
Now Qantas is reliant on this package to operate a very limited network and they have to bid against these foreign carriers.
Hence my position.