Australia: Calls for ongoing inquiry to monitor airlines over price-gouging fears

A key government program monitoring Australian airlines’ behaviour is ending just as carriers face claims they are overcharging passengers, prompting consumer and aviation figures to call for a dedicated and ongoing inquiry to probe the industry. Calls for greater scrutiny from Australian Airports Association CE, James Goodwin, and former competition tsar Rod Sims come as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) domestic aviation monitoring taskforce expires at the end of June. Beginning in June 2020, the Morrison government directed the ACCC to monitor the domestic industry for anti-competitive behaviour at a time of crisis, following Virgin Australia entering administration and the loss of budget carrier Tiger, as well as broader disruptions from pandemic border closures threatening other airlines operations. However, as the three-year term of the monitoring direction entered its final year, the quarterly reports released by the watchdog have also come to comment on international operations and examine more pressing consumer issues, including putting airlines on notice over concerns of price-gouging. Airlines were compelled to hand over detailed operating data they otherwise would not share, which has allowed insights into revenue-per-passenger figures and a more behind-the-scenes look at an industry where big players such as Qantas are posting record multibillion-dollar profits as air fares remain stubbornly high. While departmental reporting of aviation statistics such as on-time performances are set to continue, the ACCC will no longer be able to request more detailed data from carriers, and the government will no longer provide extra resources for the level of dedicated monitoring the industry has been subject to for the past three years.<br/>