The competition regulator has given the final all clear to Qantas and Jetstar for coordination with their joint venture Asian networks as it ruled it is likely to benefit consumers.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission today granted authorisation to Jetstar, Jetstar Asia, Jetstar Pacific, Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Hong Kong to collaborate more closely on passenger and cargo services, predominantly on intra-Asian routes, until March 31, 2018.
The ruling also enables the JV owners to "support and expand each JV and to relate them to their own business".
ACCC chairman Rod Sims said the coordination was likely to benefit consumers by increasing prospects for expanded Jetstar services cross Asia, while providing improved connections which would result in a "better overall travel experience".
"The ACCC considers that the coordination is likely to result in little, if any, detriment due to the fact that the Jetstar joint ventures are unlikely to be close competitors with each other with or without authorisation, nor are the joint ventures likely to be close competitors with their owners," he said.
Sims stressed that multiple competitors were operating on routes where an overlap of services occurs.
"As a result, the ACCC considers that the coordination is likely to result in little, if any, detriment," he concluded.
