US To Block American-Qantas Alliance Expansion

The US Department of Transportation has tentatively denied the application by American Airlines and Qantas to expand their existing alliance.

DOT said an expanded alliance “would create a potentially anticompetitive environment given the scale of the resulting joint business, which would account for approximately 60 percent of seats between the US and Australia.”

It also said that travellers would have few alternatives because the market is not well served by routes via third countries.

American Airlines said it would file an objection to the tentative decision.