Qantas pulls terminal from sale
 

AAP

Qantas pulls terminal from sale
Date: 11/06/04

Qantas has withdrawn its $500 million flagship domestic terminal from sale, disappointed with bidding and increasingly concerned over rising fees and charges set by the airport's owner, tipped as the frontrunner in the sale.

According to a report in The Australian Financial Review, the withdrawal will leave Qantas short-changed in funding a $6 billion fleet upgrade.

While the deal was thought to mainly have been put on ice due to price issues, negotiations were also weakened by escalating tensions over airport charges between Qantas and the Sydney Airport Corporation (SACL), the report said.

"We have looked at all the options and at this stage they don't achieve what we set out to achieve so we are withdrawing them from sale," Qantas chief financial officer Peter Gregg told the AFR.

The report said the decision would also be a setback for the SACL's growth plans.

Airports had been accused of profiteering from airlines despite the fact they were suffering a severe downturn due to terrorism and high oil prices, according to the report.

Copyright AAP 2004

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