Qantas has asked the nation’s antitrust regulator not to grant interim approval to the proposed alliance between Virgin Blue and Etihad Airways.
The regulator should consider the effects of the tie-up including the impact on fares between Abu Dhabi and Europe before granting authorisation, Qantas said in a submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
“Since Abu Dhabi attracts only a small volume of point to point travel, the true value of the proposed alliance rests in access to international networks,†Qantas said in its submission, reported by Bloomberg News.
“It is not possible that the applicants will not also be coordinating prices between Australia and Europe when they are price fixing on the Australia-Abu Dhabi route.â€
Virgin Blue recently sealed an agreement to share services and cooperate on routes between Australia and Etihad’s base in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates.
