IASC extends Qantas rights

: Saturday, 21 June 2008

AUSTRALIA’s International Air Services Commission has reviewed a large number of applications to renew route capacity allocations, many of them involving Qantas. And it has made a draft decision on code sharing by Qantas with Air Nuigini on services to Port Moresby.

Up for renewal are ‘determinations’ — the word used by IASC for its route capacity decisions — for Qantas allocations to Germany, the Philippines, Thailand, Japan, Italy, French Polynesia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Africa, China, the United States, Singapore, Greece and Vanuatu.

These fall due for renewal between February and November next year.

Most are primarily for passenger capacity, with belly-hold freight an incidental in respect to allocations.

Two are, however, for “unlimited freight capacity and frequency in each direction on the China route” and “unlimited all-cargo capacity and frequency on the United States route”.

One is specifically not for all-cargo operations, allocating “unlimited capacity and frequency on the Singapore route other than all-cargo services”.

Pacific Blue has sought renewal of a determination allocating unlimited passenger and freight capacity on the New Zealand route, as well as allocations on the Fiji and Vanuatu routes.

On the PNG route, the IASC and its PNG equivalent have been looking at the longer term fate of the Qantas/Air Niugini codeshare arrangement on flights to Port Moresby from Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns which the carriers have continued to operate on a short-term extension, expiring at the end of February.

IASC is now proposing to extend this until December 31 2009.
On the web: www.iasc.gov.au