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Virgin Australia seeks approval to partner with Alliance Airlines
Virgin Australia hopes to compete with Qantas with a little help from regional carrier Alliance Airlines.
Virgin and Alliance are seeking approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) to cooperate on mostly regional routes.
They submitted a proposal to ‘efficiently manage capacity and quickly respond to changes in demand due to the Covid-19 pandemic’ the ACC said.
It would cover 40 regional routes and two international routes.
The proposal seeks ‘temporary commercial arrangements that are most suitable for the relevant route, considering demand and risk profile in the exceptional current market conditions.’
They asked to operate risk- and revenue-sharing mechanisms and the ability to set fares as a joint venture.
"The applicants have also requested interim authorisation to facilitate the immediate planning and coordination of services on the relevant routes prior to the ACCC’s final determination in relation to the substantive application for authorisation," the regulator said.
The ACCC will make a decision on an interim authorisation of the proposal in the week by mid-December.
Rival Qantas last year bought a 19.9% stake in Alliance, making it the largest single shareholder, a move which has sparked an investigation by the ACCC.
The investigation is still ongoing.
Written by Ray Montgomery, Asia Editor
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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