Qantas inquiry calls for watchdog input on flights decisions

afr.com:

A Senate inquiry into the Albanese government’s rejection of Qatar Airways’ bid to expand flights to Australia says the decision should be immediately reviewed and recommends future airline applications be subject to a formal cost-benefit analysis and examined by the competition watchdog.

The committee probing the decision also recommended it be reappointed to further examine former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce when he returns to Australia and the airline’s government relations team, noting that “Qantas’ answers to questions on notice from senators were unsatisfactory”.

Qantas was the only party that objected to the proposed expansion by Qatar Airways.  Wolter Peeters

In its final report released on Monday, the committee called for an immediate review of the government’s decision to block Qatar’s bid to add 28 flights a week to major airports.

It said the Australian government should undertake “cost benefit analysis, consult widely with key stakeholders including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, and publish a statement of reasons for decisions taken” when considering similar applications in future.

During the inquiry, ACCC chairwoman Gina Cass-Gottlieb said the commission was not consulted on the Qatar decision, which three aviation experts said would have lowered the cost of airfares by between 15 and 40 per cent by adding to competition.

A spokesman for Qatar’s strategic partner, Virgin Australia, welcomed the recommendation to immediately review the decision. A “reversal could deliver benefits as early as Christmas for Australians seeking to travel to Europe, the Middle East and Africa, for the tourism industry and Australian exporters”, it said.

Transport Minister Catherine King has not