Tiger Airways plans to lodge an objection to the proposed joint venture between Australia's Virgin Blue group and US carrier Delta Air Lines.
The Singapore headquartered low-cost airline, which has a fully-owned Australian subsidiary, will file its objection with "Australian and United States competition regulators," a spokesman says in an email to ATI.
He adds that Tiger views the joint venture as "anti-competitive" and that it "fundamentally objects" to the tie up.
On 9 July, Virgin Blue and Delta said that they would seek regulatory approval to form a comprehensive joint venture. This will expand their reach "between the USA and Australia and the South Pacific", they added.
Delta and V Australia, a unit of Virgin Blue, operate several trans-Pacific flights every week, as do Qantas Airways and United Airlines.
Tiger Airways Australia does not fly on international routes as Australian laws prevent foreign-owned carriers from flying internationally from the country. The airline, however, said last year that it was keen to serve international routes from Australia.
Tiger is 49% owned by Singapore Airlines, which has unsuccessfully tried for years to launch trans-Pacific flights from Australia.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
