PM Anthony Albanese told Parliament, “we have the most open aviation market in the world, bar none,” implying no need to allow Qatar more flights into Australia. What’s the scam?
The scam is that this is first-class fantasy on any conceivable measure. Incidentally, today’s ‘incident’ was damage to a Qantas 330 fuselage in Brisbane
According to Simple Flying – an airline industry newsletter, the three most competitive airline routes in the world are all in the Middle East, where a plethora of airlines vie for travellers on routes. Number four is Bangkok to Incheon International in South Korea, where no less than 15 airlines offer flights (counting non-stop return only)*.
Qantas 330 damaged in Brisbane
By comparison, Bangkok to Sydney offers four alternatives (non-stop return)*.
Domestically, Australia’s busiest route is between Melbourne (Tullamarine) and Sydney, where Qantas/Jetstar compete with only Virgin and Rex, the latter with a mere seven flights a day, vs Qantas/Jetstar’s 35, and Virgin’s 30 – a virtual duopoly*.
Compare that to, say, Oslo to Copenhagen, a flight of similar duration and demographic, where most days at least seven airlines compete on the route. Or Berlin to Munich, for a domestic route comparison, where nine airlines – and only two of them German – vie for travellers’ custom*.
Albanese talks rubbish, so why should we then believe him when he also states that “nobody from Qantas lobbied him on the Qatar decision?”
Joyce is gone, the Qantas board should, too. But why our Prime Minister is choosing this particular hill to take a stand on is anybody’s guess.
* Comparisons based on non-stop flights available on October 12th, 2023, according to the Webjet travel booking site.
