Qantas and Emirates have won approval to begin implementing their tie-up ahead of its proposed April launch, the competition regulator has confirmed.
The interim authorisation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) allows the airlines to undertake "certain preliminary steps" to prepare for the alliance which will see the airlines cooperate on passenger and freight services across both operations.
These preparations will include a joint sales and pricing strategy, joint marketing, system integration and testing, customer handling, scheduling and capacity coordination.
"The ACCC is allowing Qantas and Emirates to start implementing their alliance because of the long lead time required to market and sell tickets before the commencement of long-haul services," ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.
"In making its decision, the ACCC has accepted written assurances from the parties that should the ACCC ultimately decide not to allow the alliance to go ahead, the airlines will accommodate consumers' bookings."
Qantas welcomed the decision with chief executive Alan Joyce highlighting benefits for consumers.
"Interim authorisation means we can provide details on fares and allow people to book one stop destinations on most parts of the combined Emirates and Qantas network," he said.
Fares are expected to become available in the coming weeks.
The approval follows the regulator's December 20 draft determination which formed the view that the public benefits of the alliance are "likely to outweigh the public detriment". It added any negative effect on competition is likely to be "mitigated" by factors such as continued competition from a number of established airlines."
A final decision is expected to be made in March.
