In a letter sent to Qantas shareholders yesterday, Airline Partners Australia’s director Bob Mansfield said the consortium would not break up the airline and promised consumers there would be no change to how the Frequent Flyer program operates, saying “Airline Partners Australia’s strategy does not involve a break-up of the airline, cuts to regional services or the movement of maintenance operations offshore”, adding, “Contrary to recent comments by the media, this transaction will have no impact on the Qantas Frequent Flyer program.”
However, Macquarie Bank, a key member of the APA consortium, has already completed preliminary research on establishing an economic case for selling the business as the bank believes the program could fetch up to $2 billion but credit card experts suggest it would more likely attract about half that amount.
Qantas’ Frequent Flyer program is seen as the most successful loyalty scheme operating in the Australian market and while most experts say that Qantas is likely to retain direct control of the program, the company’s new owners may be tempted to offload the business to boost cash on the balance sheet.
Report by The Mole
