Singapore quashes Qantas whispers
A report in The Age says that Singapore Airlines has quashed speculation of a possible “regional alliance” with Qantas, and predicted that Virgin’s new long-haul carrier V Australia could face tough times when it begins flying the lucrative Pacific route this year.
Singapore Airlines chief executive Chew Choon Seng said he was still hopeful the carrier would eventually be granted access to fly between Australia and the US, long denied it by successive Australian governments.
“We have been very patient and we will continue to be patient,” he said. “We have encountered roadblocks in the past.
“We were told to wait until after the federal election, and now we are being told to wait until V Australia starts up on the route, so we are still waiting.”
At a Star Alliance gathering in Cairo, Mr Chew dismissed rumours that Singapore Airlines was looking to link with Qantas because of high oil prices.
“I think each of us has our work cut out for us at the moment so that is not on the agenda,” he said.
He said he expected V Australia would find it hard to break Qantas’ stranglehold on the Pacific route when V Australia begins operations in November.
“It is a hard time to be launching new services so I think it will be tough,” he said.
“But in the long term I think the growth is still there.”
A Report by the Mole from The Age
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