Qantas and JAL

On 18 December 2020, Qantas Airways Limited (Qantas) and Japan Airlines Co Ltd (JAL), together the Applicants, applied for authorisation for a Joint Business Agreement in relation to their operations across a range of routes between Australia/New Zealand and Japan.

The Applicants submitted that the Joint Business Agreement would enable them to work together in respect of marketing and sales, pricing, scheduling, distribution strategies and agency arrangements, yield and inventory management, frequent flyer programs, lounges, joint procurement, product and service standards and cargo. 

The Applicants were seeking authorisation for the Joint Business Agreement and associated agreements for three years.  A full copy of the application for authorisation is available below.

On 6 May 2021, the ACCC released a draft determination proposing to deny authorisation.

On 2 June 2021, the date by which the ACCC must make a final determination was extended, with the agreement of the Applicants, until 17 September 2021.

On 13 September 2021, the ACCC issued a determination denying authorisation. A copy of the ACCC's determination including a summary of its reasons is available from the 'ACCC decisions' link below.