ICCC to approve airlines’ code-share deal

Business

THE Independent Consumer and Competition Commission will approve the Air Niugini and Qantas code-share arrangement on the Port Moresby-Cairns route for a period of five years.
Commissioner and chief executive officer Paulus Ain in a statement said the decision was based on the public benefits likely to result from the arrangement.
He said the draft determination of the code-share arrangement was released by the Independent Consumer and Competition Commission (ICCC) last month. “The two airlines will codeshare only for the passenger services and Qantas will market seats in competition with Air Niugini, on a free-sale basis,” he said.
“The airline’s application to codeshare was submitted to the ICCC by Air Niugini on July 27, 2016.
“The Independent Consumer and Competition Commission has completed its initial assessment of the application and has since publicly released its draft determination to industry operators, key stakeholders and the public for comments and further submission. The deadline for comments and further submissions is October 14.”
A copy of the ICCC draft determination can be accessed on the ICCC website.
Ain said the ICCC was satisfied that the coder-share would generate certain public benefits:
An element of competition in air fares on the Port Moresby/Cairns route;Air Niugini benefiting to operate efficiently on the route from Qantas’ wider marketing networks which would also benefit the travelling public; and Air Niugini providing a range of customer choice with regards to choice of airfares and scheduling of flights.
“With the Qantas decision to shift its independent services from the POM/CNS route to the Port Moresby-Brisbane route, the code-share thus ensures that there is some element of competition for consumers on the POM/CNS route until such time a competitor seeks to enter the markets,” Ain said.