QF sets ball rolling on SAA saga
Qantas has set the ball rolling again on its protracted codeshare saga with South African Airways after requesting interim authorisation for the agreement to continue until March 31 2013.
The carrier is expected to submit a new full application to the International Air Services Commission (IASC) seeking continuation of authorisation to codeshare with SAA on its Sydney-Johannesburg services by June 30.
The development follows a Qantas decision to halt a judicial review into an earlier verdict by the (IASC) to reject a five year extension, as exclusively revealed by Travel Today.
In a letter to the commission, Qantas general counsel Brett Johnson asked to extend the arrangement beyond the commission’s proposed December 31 end date to ensure “at least seven months of certainty”.
“In order to continue to effectively operate and market seats, Qantas and SAA require at least seven months of certainty in relation to the code share arrangements following any decision the commission is likely to make,” he said.
The seven month period includes a six month booking window, and a further month to “take the actions necessary” to unwind the arrangement, should that become necessary.
The extension would also give the IASC “adequate time” to consider the application, Johnson added.
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