Regulators in Australia and New Zealand approved the joint venture`s first application before being rejected by the AMERICAN DOT. This summer, American Airlines received good news: the U.S. Department of Transportation gave final approval of the airline`s joint commercial contract with Qantas. In the recent application of the ACCC, airlines take a similar approach and warn that «the benefits of the joint transaction, including the possibilities for loyalty payment and cashing and improved customer service, will be significantly eroded if they are not fully removed if the remaining JBA is not re-elected.» American Airlines CEO Doug Parker spoke with Flight Global about how the partnership has been an asset for passengers travelling across the Pacific, with new flights and better frequencies. The U.S. Department of Transportation granted final approval to airlines after a previous draft was rejected in 2016. American and Qantas can try to challenge that, although I guess it`s not going anywhere. It will be interesting to see what that means for the Trans-Pacific networks of the Americans and Qantas. I know that a lot of the growth we`ve seen has emphasized that airlines have relied on the approval of joint ventures, so I`m curious to see how their strategy will change. Kenneth until recently was a big part of qantaslink on a wet leasing arrangement with Cobham and they were definitely counted. The 748s do not operate in a business arrangement with Atlas and have a QF flight number, so not sure why they should not be «counted». «Airlines are now expected to begin coordinating their planning, pricing, sales and loyalty activities to offer customers a unique offer on trans-Pacific flights, with new options and after-sales service improvements,» says Cnet`s Department of Transportation Approval Report.
A joint venture between Fort Worth, Texas, American Airlines and Qantas, the Australian airline, was eventually approved by the Department of Transportation. In previous news, Virgin Australia and Delta Air Lines — rivals of the Qantas/American Airlines partnership — have already decided in September 2020 to suspend their own joint venture agreement, in light of Virgin Australia`s decision to suspend flights from Australia to the United States. By this order, the Department of Transportation provisionally rejects the application of American Airlines, Inc. and Qantas Airways Limited. Candidates are long-standing business partners seeking permission to develop their existing partnership with an expanded joint venture. Through a revised agreement, American and Qantas are working to plan and distribute their services on U.S.-Australia-New Zealand routes and to share revenue and costs. Joint Applicants are currently competing in many of these markets between the two regions, including the Los Angeles-Sydney non-stop market. Qantas added that the agreement would mean shorter travel times, lower fares and more journeys, starting with direct flights from Brisbane, Australia, to San Francisco and Chicago. The new routes will run on the Dreamliner aircraft, which is scheduled to take off by April 2020, and «will add more than 170,000 seats per year across the Pacific.» «There is no doubt that the neutral participation of metal sales… is the fastest and most efficient way to rebuild, maintain and ultimately build trans-Pacific capacity for the benefit of Australian consumers and businesses, particularly the crippled tourism industry,» says the proposal submitted to the ACCC.