Australian watchdog blocks Qantas-Japan Airlines deal

Reduced competition in air route travel that is not happening anyway!

can’t knock the companies for trying to get something ready.

But the market is getting used to not traveling on flights that cost 5-figure sums one-way (back) to Australia.

More airlines are going to the wall and so they need to find ways to gouge the consumer once flying is permitted again.,

The Australian government made the right decision in this instance.

Yes, for the media and masses…lol In fact, most airlines are fully or partially government backed, alone for prestige. So they can wait and afford numbers in red. If the travel business reawakens, they just make it rare to give a reason for high prices. Therefore it doesn’t play a role if they are allowed to cooperate for any advantage or not. They will find other less obvious methods to squeeze you out of your pennies. lol

es, for the media and masses…lol In fact, most airlines are fully or partially government backed, alone for prestige. 

I remember this discussion in one my graduate seminars. For many small nations and especially in the early years of aviation, about the only way anyone would provide passenger airline service to them from abroad was for the government to sponsor an international airline for that purpose. It is a very rational economic decision for a nation to make. Almost no nation outside the US had the huge internal market to support fully private airlines. That is still true of many smaller markets. And if you examine the US you find many lightly populated regions of the US require a government subsidy to coax an airline into providing service to some small isolated town such as Ely Nevada. See if from their perspective. It is a long and lonely drive to Ely but if the region desired outside investment (it does) then having an airport makes it more likely those investors will come and visit, and maybe invest. But if you had to drive there from LA.........gawd. Same rationale for smaller nations.

A good decision in my opinion. Deals and jpimt-ventures with Japan are never fair. Japan is still protectionist at heart