Australian regulators may deny Qantas-Air Niugini codeshare

Australian regulators intend to reject an application by Qantas to renew and extend its codeshare partnership with New Guinea’s largest carrier Air Niugini. The Australian International Air Services Commission (IASC) said that service changes by Qantas in the Australia-New Guinea market have had the effect of shifting more market share to Qantas. The airlines’ proposed codeshare renewal would reduce competition and increase barriers to entry, and could result in other carriers withdrawing service, the IASC said. The current codeshare authorisation expires in July. Qantas had applied to renew it, and also to extend it to cover additional Australia-New Guinea routes. After reviewing the partnership and its effects on the market, the IASC issued a draft ruling that both the renewal and extension should be denied. <br/>