Qantas says it will not trim Alliance stake despite competition concerns

Qantas Airways said it had no plan to cut its stake in Alliance Airlines, after the competition regulator raised concerns over its acquisition of 19.9% in its rival. The regulator said Alliance competed with Qantas in Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia states, and was Qantas’s only competitor on certain domestic passenger routes. Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said Alliance was a “close, important and growing competitor to Qantas”, both directly and through citing its partnership with domestic rival Virgin Australia. “We consider this shareholding has the potential to impact Alliance’s future growth and its ability to be a strong competitor,” Sims said Thursday. Qantas said it was a “passive investor” in Alliance and rejected the commission’s concerns about competition. <br/>