In reality it is probably an attempt to squeeze Virgin, which has a less than 20 per cent market share of the transtasman market altogether. If Virgin goes, Qantas and Air New Zealand will have total control over the transtasman travel market.
Air New Zealand is endlessly trying to reduce competition.
This is only the latest attempted code-share arrangement. Previous efforts include a 2006 deal with Qantas that was rejected by the Australia regulator, plus a 2011 agreement with Virgin Australia.
In addition to a significant cash injection into Virgin by Air New Zealand the two airlines had to agree to both maintaining transtasman capacity and increasing capacity from Wellington and Dunedin to ensure competition.
Qantas may be motivated by the fact its group's domestic share of the Australian market has declined from 47.9 per cent in 2007 to 39.1 per cent in 2016.
Whilst the airlines are claiming the proposed arrangement does not apply to their transtasman services, this is in reality quite misleading. By feeding each other's domestic services they are effectively locking out and seriously disadvantaging Virgin Blue, the only remaining competition.
Now Emirates has recently pulled out of transtasman services Qantas, plus its Jetstar subsidiary, and Air New Zealand carry about three-quarters of all passengers, whilst domestically within New Zealand Jetstar and Air NZ will have a gigantic estimated 95 per cent market share.
This proposal could result in Jetstar's domestic operations in New Zealand being wound up, returning us to the evil days of Air New Zealand's total domestic monopoly.
Those of us from provincial New Zealand in particular have seen an incredible reduction in air fares, especially to Auckland, since Jetstar's arrival just under three years ago. There has been a near 200,000 increase in passenger numbers through Hawke's Bay Airport.
Interestingly, air fares on routes where Jetstar is not involved still seem very high.
If Jetstar goes, Air New Zealand fares will almost immediately start soaring to their previous mind-numbing levels, disadvantaging tourism and businesses alike and making places such as Hawke's Bay unattractive and uncompetitive once again.
Main centre travellers may have forgotten that before the arrival of Ansett and Virgin on domestic routes they too had to endure the inconvenience and excessive prices of a single provider.
The suggestion that passengers will be better served by the proposed arrangements is simply rubbish.
Claims of faster journey times are unsubstantiated and suggestions of co-ordinated check ins and other such gains are already possible without code sharing or could easily be arranged if there was a determination to do so.
Equally the other benefit claims such as bio fuel research are a diversion. It is unlikely crop-based food diverting aviation fuels will ever be viable.
The Government, as the major shareholder of Air New Zealand, has the power to force a rethink. If the airlines do not back down immediately the Government must pass legislation under urgency to protected consumers.
The Government also holds the moral high ground after providing a billion-dollar bail-out for Air New Zealand after the failed Ansett experiment early in the current millennium.
And it is time for the Commerce Commission and the Australian watchdog, the ACCC, to awaken from their slumber on commercial aviation.
The proposed anti-competitive arrangement must be banned.
It is also time to outlaw forever all anti-competitive airline duopolies, enforced with threats of multimillion-dollar financial penalties and imprisonment for the board members and senior management of the offending companies.
Simon Nixon
Hawke's Bay District councillor
