ACCC allows Virgin Blue-Etihad alliance
03-Feb-2011 The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has granted authorisation for an alliance between Virgin Blue and Etihad Airways for five years.
The airlines have agreed to cooperate on joint pricing and scheduling of services across their networks. Virgin Blue and Etihad will not share revenue under the alliance.
"The ACCC considers that the alliance is likely to promote competition and result in new international services, in particular between Australia and Abu Dhabi with onward connections to Europe," ACCC chairman Graeme Samuel said today.
Given the airlines do not currently compete on any routes, the ACCC considers the alliance is unlikely to result in any anti-competitive detriments.
Authorisation provides immunity from court action for conduct that might otherwise raise concerns under the competition provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010.
Broadly, the ACCC may grant an authorisation when it is satisfied that the public benefit from the conduct outweighs any public detriment.
The ACCC's determination will be available from the ACCC website, www.accc.gov.au, and follow the links from Public registers to Authorisations & notifications registers, then authorisations register.