Virgin Atlantic may appeal a decision that allows British Airways and Qantas to continue codeshare services to Australia.
The decision came from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), which granted the continuation of the joint service agreement (JSA) between BA and Qantas for a further five years. BA said it was not surprised at the outcome.
BA director of investments and alliances, Roger Maynard said: “The JSA on the kangaroo routes has been in place for 10 years and we have always said it is pro-consumer and pro-choice.”
But Virgin says it is not pro-consumer. A spokeswoman told TravelMole: “Virgin is very disappointed at the decision and cannot understand why the ACCC would reach this decision given their own findings of a substantial adverse impact on both business and leisure markets on consumers.”
The spokeswoman added that Virgin would consider an appeal against the decision after it had thoroughly read the ACCC report, the result of a 21-month investigation.
Report by Ginny McGrath
