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15 December, 2023

Qantas flags potential higher airfares in response to Government’s Aviation Green Paper

Melbourne Australia- March 14, 2014: Qantas airplanes wait for departure at Melbourne Airport

Qantas released its response to the Federal Government’s Aviation Green Paper yesterday where it outlined its stance on sustainability, customer experience, noise and airport reforms.

Among these stances, the national carrier vehemently opposed the government’s proposal to introduce a mandatory compensation scheme, which would mandate that airlines pay travellers in the event of a disruption. Qantas said that this scheme “doesn’t address the core drivers of delays and cancellations (which already represent a significant cost to airlines) and is likely to lead to higher fares and make marginal routes less sustainable.”

Qantas added that a similar scheme is in place in Europe and “hasn’t led to a reduction in disruptions, with recent on-time-performance below Australia’s.”

On sustainability, Qantas outlined the need for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) as the key to decarbonising aviation and achieving net zero emission by 2050.

“Deliberate policy steps are required to create a SAF industry and a number of countries (including in the United States, United Kingdom and Europe) have introduced a mix of mandates for airlines and subsidies for producers in recent years,” the airline wrote.

Qantas argued that improvements to air traffic control and airspace management are also criticial to reducing CO2 emissions.

“For example, if Qantas Group flights between Brisbane and Melbourne, and Brisbane and Sydney, were each reduced by one minute, this would reduce emissions by over three million kilograms each year,” the airline said.

Qantas also called for airport reform, describing Australian airports as “unregulated monopoly infrastructure.”

Qantas’ submission included examples of “‘Airports Behaving Badly’ due to the lack of checks and balances on their conduct around contract negotiation,” and called for modest reform.

The Qantas Group said it believes a more balanced approach is required to aircraft noise at airports.

“The most effective way to reduce aircraft noise is by operating modern aircraft which can have a 50 per cent reduction in noise footprint. We support incentives such as a noise dividend whereby flying quieter aircraft could facilitate increased movements and avoid operating restrictions,” Qantas said.

The aviation green paper is part of a process to help shape a 30-year strategy for the Australian aviation industry.

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