Qantas throttles back on Asia expansion
Qantas has put plans for a premium carrier based in Asia on the back burner.
Speaking in Berlin, CEO Alan Joyce said he did not expect progress on the proposed airline for “a year or two or three” after the carrier failed to secure a deal to build a hub in Asia.
“We are still in dialogue with both the Singaporeans and Malaysians but nothing is happening in the short term,” Joyce said in a Berlin interview, reported by Bloomberg. “It’s more of a long-term issue.”
Talks with Malaysia Airlines collapsed after the companies couldn’t agree on the commercial terms.
“The Asian carrier would have lost money in the first few years of its operation, and the plan was aimed more at recovering market share rather than delivering on current earnings targets,” Joyce said.
“We’ll eventually do it but the time wasn’t right today,” he said.
Malaysia Airlines has its own problems as it tries to bed down a share swap alliance with budget carrier, AirAsia.
Last week, MAS chairman Tan Sri Md Nor Yusof said the airline was “ a very sick patient” which needed to be restructured.
Ian Jarrett
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