Qantas an aggressive player with ‘strong presence’ in Canberra, Senate inquiry told

Qantas has been accused of being an aggressive industry player with a “strong presence” in Canberra, amid allegations it is muscling out its competitors by strategically scheduling and then cancelling economically unviable flights. A Senate inquiry is scrutinising how the airline industry operates, and the federal government’s role in it, after a decision by the transport minister, Catherine King, to deny Qatar Airways running an additional 28 services to major cities. Sydney Airport’s CE, Geoff Culbert, told senators on Tuesday Qantas was one of its toughest counterparties during negotiations, alluding to its influence in political circles. Culbert named Qantas and its budget subsidiary, Jetstar, among the domestic airlines that had been engaging in anti-competitive behaviour, leaving customers with higher air fares. Qantas Group – which together with budget carrier Jetstar operates 66% of domestic aviation – and Virgin Australia vehemently deny they hoard slots at Sydney. An earlier submission from the airport pointed to the “outdated” legal and regulatory framework that had allowed the system to become “clogged up” while incentivising anti-competitive behaviour. In particular, the airport said airlines had been using a strategy, known as “slot hoarding”, to hold on to flight slots despite not necessarily intending to go ahead with the flights for economic reasons. The practice prevents competitor airlines from applying for those empty slots, which has a flow-on effect for consumer prices. “Fundamentally, the way the current rules are written incentivises incumbent airlines to perpetually over-file and hold too many slots,” the airport’s submission said. “Slot filing data demonstrates that this has been allowed to go untempered for many years, and unless there’s a change to the rules, we do not see a scenario where behaviours will change or competition can increase.”<br/>