Perhaps the staff of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission doesn’t get to fly often enough. How else to explain the anodyne nature of the consumer watchdog’s latest quarterly report into airline competition in Australia?

According to the ACCC, capacity is not keeping up with demand and airfares are higher than they have been in years. This is hardly news to any airline passenger. The ACCC’s response is to warn it will closely monitor the domestic airlines to ensure they return capacity to the market “in a timely manner to bring downward pressure on airfares”.