Flight Centre boss Graham Turner also said he was “concerned” about the precedent that has been set by the government’s decision to reject an application from Qatar Airways to double its flights to Australia.
“This is a significant blow. No other part of the tourism and aviation sector can rationalise it. I don’t blame Qantas for its lobbying, but I am concerned it was successful,” Turner said.
“This is supposed to be a competitive market, a free market. Our travel agency business competes with many major international businesses in Australia, as it should. Most other markets we compete in are relatively competitive.” Turner said he’s “reasonably confident” more international airlines will continue to apply to fly to Australia. He said European carriers including Air France – which does not currently fly to Australia – has indicated it would like to. Turkish Airlines, one of the biggest airlines in the world, has also flagged its intention to fly, but the Turkish government is yet to formally lodge an application.
Turner said he doesn’t blame Qantas for successfully lobbying the government, but is concerned at the competition consequences of the government’s decisionFlight Centre’s results were buoyed by the resumption of corporate travel overseas. The group expects corporate travel in Australia to exceed 2019 levels by the end of 2024 as fares normalise.
“We spent a lot of time negotiating with businesses during COVID-19 to make sure they would continue to partner with us. We won a lot of work that way. This result is down to that success in the US and UK, but we expect Australian corporate travel to normalise as fares come down and it becomes easier to book a seat,” Turner said.
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