Qantas’ alliance with Emirates has been given preliminary clearance by regulators in Australia.
The two airlines agreed the alliance in September which will also mean the end of Qantas’ 17-year joint business with British Airways from March 31, 2013.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said it proposed to grant authorisation because the alliance was likely to “result in material, although not substantial, benefits to Australian consumers”. A final decision will be made by the ACCC in March 2013.
Commission chairman Rod Sims said: “The ACCC is of the view that the main benefit arising from the alliance is an improved product and service offering by the two airlines to their customers. This includes increased customer access to each others’ flights, destinations and frequent flyer programmes.
“The alliance is likely to result in some public detriments through its effect on competition where Qantas and Emirates currently offer overlapping services.
“In most of these regions, there are factors which are likely to mitigate the public detriment, including continuing competition from a number of established airlines.”
If the alliance gets final approval, Qantas will transfer its hub for European flights from Singapore to Dubai from April 2013, and the Gulf city will also become Qantas' gateway to the Middle East and North Africa.
Both airlines welcomed the ACCC’s initial decision with Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce calling it an “important step towards delivering a better travel experience for millions of customers”.
“We put a strong case to the ACCC that outlined the benefits of this partnership, both for travellers and for Australian tourism,” added Joyce.
“Our customer research has shown very strong support for the Qantas and Emirates partnership, particularly in terms of increasing one-stop access to Europe, cutting travel time and offering frequent flyer benefits.”
Emirates president Tim Clark added: “The feedback since the Emirates and Qantas partnership was announced has been positive and reinforces what a strong match the two brands are for each other..
“Australia is one of the top three destinations in the Emirates network, popular for our business and leisure travellers alike.”