Qantas may pull Dallas/Fort Worth route if AA partnership isn’t approved.
American Airlines and Qantas have filed a fresh application with the US transportation regulator, seeking approval of a new joint business to “better service customers flying between North America and Australia and New Zealand.”
The oneworld carriers said the proposed partnership “will significantly improve service, stimulate demand and unlock more than $US300 million annually in consumer benefits that are not achievable through any other form of cooperation”.
The planned arrangement will also give American and Qantas the opportunity to introduce additional routes between the US and Australia and New Zealand, including new city pairings, the codeshare partners said.
“Critically, if the joint business is not approved, American and Qantas will have no choice but to further reduce codesharing on their networks. This will jeopardise the number of services and routes each carrier flies between the US and Australia and New Zealand,” they said.
Routes highlighted which may be wound back, down-gauged or potentially cancelled are Qantas’ Airbus A380 service between Sydney and Dallas/Fort Worth, or American Airlines’ services between Los Angeles and Sydney and Auckland, the carriers told the US Department of Transportation.
“American and Qantas look forward to working together to deliver new routes, a more seamless travel experience, and greater access to lower fares under a joint business,” the airlines added.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.