Add Category
Updated
Australia's two major airlines are locked in a bitter battle for survival, with Virgin Australia asking the consumer watchdog to investigate whether Qantas is using the coronavirus pandemic to permanently ground its fierce competitor.
Key points:
- The Virgin CEO has asked the ACCC to investigate his Qantas counterpart's criticism of suggestions about bailing out the airline
- Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has said governments should not be in the business of supporting companies that had been "badly managed"
- Both airlines have suffered a downturn amid the COVID-19 pandemic
Virgin Australia chief executive Paul Scurrah has written to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), taking aim at counterpart Alan Joyce's criticism of suggestions the Federal Government should bail out the airline.
Both Qantas and Virgin announced last week they were cancelling international services and dramatically slashing their domestic routes due to extra travel restrictions and a steep drop in passenger numbers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Joyce told Qantas staff during a conference call they should lobby their local MPs to ensure any Commonwealth support to the airline industry was offered "across the board", and not just for one company alone.
It followed comments on Sky News where he said the Federal Government could not pick "winners and losers" when it came to propping up airlines, and governments should not be in the business of supporting companies that had been "badly managed".
Some media outlets reported Mr Joyce's teleconference comments had extended to campaigning against Commonwealth support for Virgin Australia, and the potential for nationalisation.
A Qantas spokesman has strenuously denied that claim.
Stay up-to-date on the coronavirus outbreak
In an email to staff obtained by the ABC, the Virgin Australia boss labelled Mr Joyce's reported comments "very disappointing".
"I am in daily discussions with Government to ensure we get the support we need to get through this and have been advocating on behalf of Virgin Australia Group and the industry as a whole," Mr Scurrah wrote.
"I have today written a letter to Rod Sims, chairman of the ACCC, to investigate public commentary and an industry-wide campaign that is designed to ensure a lessening of competition in the aviation sector.
"In the meantime, we have been speaking to the media to ensure that this commentary is balanced with a response from us."
It is understood Virgin fears Mr Joyce's comments will take a sledgehammer to already fragile consumer confidence in the airline industry, harming its chances of weathering the coronavirus storm and continuing to operate.
Your questions on coronavirus answered
The ACCC would not comment on the letter from Mr Scurrah.
The Federal Government announced a $715 million support package for the sector last week, waiving many fees and charges for airlines during the downturn.
What the experts are saying about coronavirus:
Topics: diseases-and-disorders, covid-19, travel-and-tourism, air-transport, industry, business-economics-and-finance, government-and-politics, australia
First posted