Qantas seeks to overturn ‘flawed’ denial of Cathay Pacific codeshare
Qantas has made a last ditch effort to persuade Australia’s International Air Services Commission to overturn a decision not to grant a code-sharing expansion with Cathay Pacific.
The airline called out the ‘flawed’ logic in denying the new codeshare agreement.
It called for it to be reconsidered as the commission came to ‘inappropriate conclusions’ over the impact on market competition.
The IASC denied it as it believed it would ‘entrench and expand the market position of Qantas and Cathay to the detriment of Virgin Australia’s competitive position.’
Virgin had opposed it.
Qantas and Cathay had applied to expand an August 2018 agreement to include 15 one-way routes from Hong Kong operated by Cathay and subsidiary Cathay Dragon and 25 domestic routes operated by Qantas.
Qantas said the commission had a ‘narrow focus’ in determining the potential impact on competition, adding that it ‘would be marginal or non-existent in practice’ on point-to-point routes.
"In addition to placing insufficient weight in the broader "behind/beyond" nature of the proposed codeshare, the draft decision appears to adopt a view that the point-to-point Australia-Hong Kong routes are not currently charactersed by healthy competition and this will be exacerbated by the proposed codeshare,” Qantas said in its written submission.
"Evidence shows this is not the case. There is currently intense competition between the direct operators, Qantas, Cathay and Virgin Australia. The market is growing in terms of passenger volumes and capacity and airfares have been on a downward trend for many years."
Qantas argued the expanded codeshare is essential for the sustainable operation and market growth on Australia and Hong Kong routes.
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
In Italy, the Meloni government congratulates itself for its tourism achievements
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive