Qantas' attempted take-over of Australia's leading FIFO air charter operator and regional airline, Alliance, has been slammed as anti-competitive by Katter's Australian Party Leader and Traeger MP Robbie Katter.
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On Thursday May 5, Qantas released a statement announcing its intentions to fully acquire Alliance which, between its charter services and a small number of passenger routes that overlap with large mine sites, holds around two per cent of the total domestic aviation market.
The acquisition would boost Qantas Group's - whose holdings include Jetstar - current market share of 62 per cent, helping the aviation juggernaut trend further towards its target of 70 per cent.
However the move is still subject to a vote from Alliance shareholders and a competition clearance from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.
Mr Katter said the buy-up was undeniably anti-competitive, because it would likely guillotine all arrangements that Alliance presently has in place with Virgin - which is Qantas' main competitor - as part of its Charter Alliance Agreement.
It would also wipe any competition posed by Alliance to Qantas, or other market players, out of the equation.
"The only answers to improving outcomes for the passengers on regional routes, where services are typically unreliable and of poor quality but fares are high, are more competition or complete route regulation," Mr Katter said.
"If the State Governments refuse to regulate the routes where customers suffer the most, such as the Mount Isa route, then competition needs to be guaranteed.
"For far too long, dominant players have greedily pursued control of almost every domestic route in the country, and this latest attempted take-over of Alliance is a further escalation of this approach.
"It is the private airlines corporate right try and chase more profits, just as it is mine as a local Member sick of seeing rural communities suffer to call out unfairness when I see it - the only people who will win out of this take-over is Qantas and its shareholders."
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