Air New Zealand (ANZ) has expressed dismay at the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) preliminary rejection of its proposed alliance with Qantas, claiming the watchdog group's ruling is flawed.
Star Alliance carrier ANZ says it is "flabbergasted and astounded" by the ACCC's draft decision rejecting its plan to codeshare with Oneworld's Qantas on flights between New Zealand and Australia.
ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel says authorisation of the agreement would "fundamentally change the competitive process on the trans-Tasman", where the two airlines account for about 80% of the passengers carried.
ANZ chief financial officer Rob McDonald says a preliminary review of the draft ruling "indicates several inconsistencies". He adds: "Although we have only had a short amount of time to review the determination's contents, we have already spotted flaws and we will be raising these with the ACCC before a final determination is made."
ANZ and Qantas applied early this year to codeshare on flights between their home countries as well as to co-ordinate pricing and scheduling. They have said the proposed tie-up is aimed at removing excess capacity on the so-called trans-Tasman routes.
The ACCC said in its draft ruling that codesharing would be of limited public benefit and would lead to higher prices and reduced travel options. It will seek submissions from interested parties before a final determination is made.
McDonald adds: "If the ACCC sticks with this determination, it is potentially forcing ANZ to make capacity and route decisions that will come at a significant cost to consumers. We cannot continue to fly the equivalent of 43 empty Airbus A320 aircraft across the Tasman daily."
Source: Flight International
