Australia: ACCC approves Virgin Australia’s plans with Virgin Atlantic

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued a draft determination proposing to authorise Virgin Australia to more closely cooperate with Virgin Atlantic on flights between Australia and the UK and Ireland, via Hong Kong, Los Angeles, and any other future mutual connecting points.

ACCC commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said, “Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic have asked to be authorised to cooperate more closely to improve their services between Australia and the UK and Ireland and attract more passengers.

“In authorising this cooperation, we expect to see improvements to the carriers’ schedules and services to passengers.”

Virgin Australia is hoping the closer cooperation with Virgin Atlantic will increase passenger numbers and enable the airline to operate its Hong Kong service in a more sustainable fashion.

Virgin Australia and Virgin Atlantic are separate businesses that do not operate overlapping services on any routes, and the ACCC noted in its draft determination that this is unlikely to change in the future.

Full Content: ACCC

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