AUSTRALIA-SINGAPORE OPEN-SKIES TALKSQantas chief slams SIA bid for transpacific route
SIA points to Qantas' record $590m profit as proof that it can take on competition
By Roger Maynard
Australia Correspondent
SYDNEY - QANTAS chief executive Geoff Dixon yesterday blasted Singapore Airlines (SIA) for trying to take a slice of the Australian national carrier's lucrative transpacific routes to North America, even after Qantas reported a record half-year profit.
Speaking a day after Singapore Transport Minister Yeo Cheow Tong said that SIA could be flying the route within a year, Mr Dixon launched a three-pronged attack on SIA's case for an open skies policy.
At a press conference to announce that Qantas' net income rose 28 per cent to A$458.4 million (S$590 million), the airline chief argued that opening up the Australia-US route to SIA would not necessarily reduce fares; that Qantas would be at a disadvantage; and that competition was not properly regulated in Singapore.
He insisted that Qantas would be the loser from any such deal. 'We don't have the same rights out of Singapore as they would obtain if they had these (Australian) rights,' he said.
'We have made that plain to the (Australian) government - obviously the government has taken that on board.'
Regarding the view that competition would mean lower fares, he said it was 'a little bit unlikely'.
'I mean they (SIA) are not known around the world as a low-fare airline, and if you go to Singapore, I am quite sure you don't get too many low fares,' he said.
He also suggested that this could be due to a lack of competition regulators in Singapore.
In response to Mr Dixon's remarks, SIA contended yesterday that Qantas' half-year results are ample testimony to its ability to face competition.
'This (Qantas) is one of the most profitable airlines in the world,' an SIA spokesman said.
SIA also said Mr Dixon's argument that Qantas does not have the same rights on routes out of Singapore is incorrect.
'He is confusing rights out of Singapore - which are very open - with rights into other countries, which are not within the jurisdiction of Singapore to fix,' the spokesman said.
Australia is actively seeking better access to key European cities for its carriers. Transport Minister John Anderson will travel to Europe in the next few days for talks on this subject.
On the issue of SIA's fares, the SIA spokesman said: 'Only weeks ago, Mr Dixon was in Singapore complaining about how SIA was selling at or below fares being charged by Jetstar Asia, and now he says we're not known as a low-fare airline.'
After holding talks with Mr Yeo, Mr Anderson made it clear that no decision on the open-skies deal would be made until he had had discussions with key stakeholders, including Qantas.
However, Industry and Tourism Minister Ian Macfarlane hinted in a radio interview that Singapore's request might be granted, subject to conditions.
These might include a ban on SIA flying the 850-seat A380 Airbus, which it will start operating next year, on the Australian route until Qantas takes delivery of its own A380s about six months later
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Geoff Nixon is such a bastard.
