ACCC approves Qantas Asia move
SMH 26 Mar 2013
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) authorised Qantas to coordinate with Jetstar's operations in Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and Hong Kong on passenger and cargo services, the regulator said in a statement this morning.
But the authorisation does not extend to coordination between the airline owners, the ACCC said.
If the ACCC applies the same criteria to the QF/EK tie up, expect the result will mean reduced opportunity to use competition immunity to bypass the Qantas Sale Act when thinking about establishing a Qantas Emirates Joint Venture in Asia.
Hmmm! Suspect the ALAEA will soon be smiling, but not so sure about Geoff Dixon and hard to say what a similar ACCC decision will mean for Qantas and Emirates long term.