Australian competition watchdog the ACCC allows global alliance while putting special conditions on New Zealand flights
Australia's competition regulator has given the airlines Qantas and Emirates final approval to form a five-year global alliance, while requiring that they continue to compete with each other on flights between Australian and New Zealand.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission also said there would only be slight benefits to the public from the partnership. "The ACCC is satisfied that the alliance is likely to result in material, but not substantial, public benefits," the ACCC chairman Rod Sims said in a statement.
The ACCC had already granted interim approval, allowing the Australian and Dubai-based carriers to share flights between Australia and Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Wednesday's final ruling, which lasts for five years, requires each airline to maintain its existing capacity on four overlapping routes to New Zealand: Sydney-Auckland, Melbourne-Auckland, Brisbane-Auckland and Sydney-Christchurch……
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