Competition watchdog seeks public feedback on proposed SIA, ANA joint venture

The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCCS) is seeking public feedback on a proposed business tie-up between Singapore Airlines and ANA. The airlines entered into a proposed commercial cooperation on Jan 31 this year, in which they agreed to cooperate on scheduling, pricing, sales and marketing, and other commercial areas. The proposed cooperation will extend to the parties' subsidiaries, SilkAir (Singapore), which is in the process of being integrated into SIA, as well as Air Japan and ANA Wings. The competition watchdog said it received and accepted a joint application as at June 2, and is now assessing whether it would infringe section 34 of the Competition Act, which prohibits agreements or concerted practices by undertakings which prevent, restrict or distort competition within any market in Singapore. SIA and ANA submitted that they overlap on eight air passenger transport routes between Japan and Singapore on a direct or one-stop basis, said CCCS. Both parties said the proposed cooperation is "unlikely to result in any adverse effects on competition". The increment in the combined passenger share of the airlines on five out of eight of the overlapping routes is minimal, both parties said. They added that there is still "intense competition from competitors on the overlapping routes that are direct routes", and noted that the existing low barriers to entry on the overlapping routes would facilitate entry by potential competitors. According to SIA and ANA, the proposed cooperation "is expected to result in significant consumer and economic benefits and efficiencies".<br/>