Qantas spruiks ‘fare go’ for Qld regions amid anti-competitive behaviour claims

The CEO of Qantas has denied the airline engages in anti-competitive behaviour, as she outlines its residents’ fare scheme that offers 20 per cent discounts for regional Queensland towns.

The CEO of Qantas has denied the airline engages in anti-competitive behaviour, as it spends hundreds of million of dollars on new aircraft to make flights faster and cheaper.

Vanessa Hudson, speaking at the Bush Summit in Townsville said reinvesting in its fleet was the single most important thing that an airline could do for long-term sustainability.

“Ansett, for one, fell behind the cycle in investing in new technology and so looking forward, we think that it’s incredibly important for an island nation where the geography of population spread the way it is that aviation is critical, and so competition is critical,” she said.

Ms Hudson said regional Australia was not an “afterthought” when it came to affordable aviation, spruiking the airlines’s residents’ fare scheme offering 20 per cent discounts for towns like Mount Isa, Moranbah, Charleville, Cloncurry and Longreach.

“The one thing that we do recognise is that residents in regional communities need to be able to access reasonable fares to get into the larger cities,” she said.

“We have teams of people that are reviewing demand in the community as well, we have sales people who are connecting with community leaders, local mayors, customers, getting that feedback, understanding how our network needs to change over time based on the needs of those communities.”

Qantas Airways chief executive Vanessa Hudson. (Photo by DAVID GRAY / AFP)

Ms Hudson said the new aircraft would come with more seats, lower maintenance cost sand be more reliable.

When asked about price gouging during peak travel events like footy finals, Ms Hudson said the airline did attempt to override automated systems to ensure fairer prices.

“We absolutely focus on making sure that where there are big surges in demand, that we keep fares under control,” she said.

Ms Hudson said Qantas was sad to see the downfall of Rex, with competition on regional routes always welcomed.

“We were very sad to see Rex in the situation that they are in,” she said.

“We know that they are a loved brand, and we also feel for the pilots, the cabin crew, who are so committed to that business.”

Ms Hudson denied Qantas undertook “anti-competitive behaviour”.

“We have been monitored by the ACCC for years and the ACCC has found no instance of anti-competitive behaviour,” she said.

Ms Hudson said Qantas’ next most significant phase of investment was in sustainable aviation fuel, which would create new jobs in North Queensland.

“That’s going to be good for efficiency, that’s going to be good for the climate, because noise will reduce from those new aircraft, as will emissions,” she said.

“It’s a biofuel that substitutes for a fossil fuel.

“We are investing one of our first major investments in sustainable aviation fuel is here in Townsville.

“We’ve invested in the development of this capability here, and that is going to add jobs here locally.”