A Senate committee on bilateral air service agreements, specifically around the decision to block Qatar Airways’ request to double flights into Australia, has put forward 10 recommendations in its final report, including a call on the government to “immediately review” its decision.
The 10 recommendations of the Qatar Airways inquiry include:
- An immediate review of the QR decision not to increase capacity.
- Government to consider a cost-benefit analysis for decisions, consult the ACCC and disclose decision rationales for bilateral agreements.
- Government review to enhance domestic aviation competition, including considering divestiture powers for addressing market power abuse.
- Government reinstates ACCC monitoring of domestic airlines.
- Government instructs ACCC to conduct an inquiry into domestic aviation competition.
- Government to enact consumer protection reforms for flight delays, cancellations, lost baggage, and loyalty program issues.
- Government action on Sydney Airport Demand Management Scheme, including slot management and ‘use it or lose it’ rule improvements per Peter Harris’ recommendations.
- Government considers limited cabotage for foreign airlines at regional airports.
- Committee urges Senate to extend hearings for Alan Joyce and Qantas government affairs representatives due to unsatisfactory answers to questions on notice.
- Committee advises Senate to request Hon. Catherine King MP’s appearance at the Select Committee on Bilateral Air Service Agreements for public testimony.
Cheaper airfares ahead?
According to the ABC, committee chair and National Party senator Bridget McKenzie said the recommendations would ultimately lead to cheaper airfares.
“At a time of a cost-of-living crisis in Australia the government has made decisions that have protected Qantas’ market share and kept the cost of airfares higher for Australian families and exporters, and they have delayed making critical decisions to improve the reliability of domestic travel especially at Sydney Airport,” she said.
“The committee heard evidence that Australians could have been enjoying cheaper flights to Europe and the Middle East as early as April this year had the government approved additional Qatar Airways flights, and that Turkish Airlines had planned to offer additional flights in time for families to reunite overseas this Christmas.
“Clear evidence was provided of the aggressive use of market power by Qantas and the committee has called for reinstatement of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission monitoring of the domestic airline industry and for the competition watchdog to inquire into anti-competitive behaviour in the sector.”
12 reasons for rejection
Defending its rejection of Qatar Airways’ request for an extra 28 flights across Australia’s major ports, the Federal Government put forward “at least 12” arguments, starting with a response to the “invasive strip searches of women at Doha Airport”, per Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King MP.
Whilst “never specifically” going into the national interest grounds on which the Qatar request was rejected, the government’s arguments included:
- Human rights
- Decarbonising aviation
- Protecting Australian jobs
- Qantas’ recent purchase of new planes
- The threat to the domestic aviation industry
- Not in the ‘national interest’
- Qatar Airways’ unused access
- Other carriers’ applications to up capacity
- An already competitive aviation market
- Current aviation and international aviation market trends
- The post-pandemic recovery
- The return of capacity into the system
Not a “serious report”
According to the Guardian, Minister King called the inquiry “a political stunt” by the Coalition.
“This was always and remains a political stunt from the Coalition that did none of the things it is calling on the Albanese Government to do,” she said after the committee released its findings on Monday.
“It didn’t give Qatar 28 extra flights a week and took four years to give an extra seven; it didn’t do anything on the slots system at Sydney Airport.
“It did nothing to improve consumer protections. And it left the sector without a blueprint for the future. It was not a serious Government then and it has not produced a serious report now.”
Meanwhile, Sydney Airport CEO Geoff Culbert said, “The one thing that has become abundantly clear throughout this whole process is that high airfares, cancellations and the misuse of slots at Sydney Airport are all symptoms of an outdated regulatory framework in the aviation sector”.
“The committee’s report gets to the heart of these issues and suggests reforms which will ultimately benefit the travelling public,” he said in a statement.
To read the full 137-page report, click here.
Two weeks ago, the Australian transport department said it would schedule a meeting with Qatari officials after receiving multiple requests from the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority (QCAA) to discuss Qatar Airways’ operations in Australia.
