Australia’s Competition Watchdog Denies Virgin-Alliance Partnership

In a major upheaval of WA’s aviation landscape, a draft determination by the competition watchdog could deny the extension of a partnership between Virgin Australia and Alliance Aviation Services to jointly bid for fly-in, fly-out contracts.

The draft, issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on Friday, has major ramifications for the proposed acquisition of Alliance by Virgin rival Qantas, which is also up in the air after a negative draft determination from the watchdog in August.

Industry observers suggest the ACCC would have a difficult time denying Qantas’ buyout bid if it approved the extension of the Virgin-Alliance partnership.

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Geoffery Thomas

World-renowned, multi-award-winning writer, author, and commentator who has taken a holistic view of the aviation industry for more than 40 years. Geoffrey has 42 awards for his works including a Lifetime Achievement Award. He has authored 11 books on the industry. He is the former SE-Asian Editor for McGraw Hill’s flagship Aviation Week & Space Technology and the former Chief Editor of US-based Air Transport World.

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