Labor knocked back Qatar’s request for additional flights to protect Qantas profits, the Assistant Treasurer has revealed.
The Gulf carrier was seeking to operate an extra 21 flights a week into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne in a bid launched last year and ultimately rejected by the government last month.
The Albanese government claimed that the move to block the additional flights was in Australia’s “national interest” but provided little detail on the specific factors behind the decision. “We have a viable [airline] industry in Australia, and we always want to ensure we’re doing things to drive down the cost of airline tickets.
Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka estimated that international airfares were around 50 per cent higher than pre-COVID, while some industry experts have put the figures closer to 40 per cent. Virgin Australia – which operates a codeshare agreement with Qatar – estimates it would have increased its market share from 23 per cent to 27 per cent had the Middle Eastern airline’s bid been approved.
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