Airfares would be 'up to 10 per cent' cheaper if Qatar Airways flights added, inquiry hears

Granting Qatar Airways extra flights into Australia would have delivered cheaper airfares and a $1 billion boost in tourism, an inquiry looking at recent Qantas scandals has heard.

Qantas was an "exceptionally aggressive competitor", a parliamentary hearing into Qatar Airways' failed bid for extra flights into Australia has been told. Source: AP / Kamran Jebreili

Key Points

• A Senate inquiry is look into flight prices and consumer rights.
• Opposition transport spokesperson Bridget McKenzie will head the inquiry committee.
• A Qatar Airways representative was invited to Tuesday's hearing, but declined to appear.

Granting Qatar Airways extra flights into Australia would have delivered cheaper airfares and a $1 billion boost in tourism, an inquiry has been told.

Extra services for Qatar Airways would have led to "favourable effects", Airline Intelligence and Research chief executive Tony Webber said.

"There will be a material reduction in airfares ... somewhere between seven per cent and 10 per cent," he told a Senate select committee.

The former Qantas chief economist said there would have been an improvement in inbound tourism, largely from Europe, that could have been worth up to $1 billion.

"There is a material amount of market dominance from Qantas," Webber said.

The Senate inquiry examining the Albanese government's decision to knock back the airline's bid held its first public hearing in Sydney on Tuesday.

Webber described the airline as an "exceptionally aggressive competitor".

"If a new carrier encroaches on its routes, on its market share, then it will aggressively respond," he said.

Webber said the only commercially viable routes for Qatar after the pandemic were larger markets, including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.

Representatives from Qatar Airways and Qantas were not listed to appear on Tuesday but have been invited to give evidence.

Transport Minister Catherine King has come under fire for her decision to reject Qatar Airways' bid to double the 28 weekly services it offers in Australia, after being lobbied by Qantas.

Critics claim the move shields Qantas from competition, but Ms King has maintained the decision was made in the national interest.

Australian women detained at Doha airport

Thirteen Australian women were detained at Doha's Hamad International Airport in October 2020, after a baby was found abandoned in a bin.

Qatari authorities were searching for the mother, before they pulled women off several flights at gunpoint, where they were led away and forced to undergo invasive examinations.

Marque Lawyers managing partner Michael Bradley, who is representing a group of the women, said Qatar Airways was dragging the case out and had made it a "torturous and expensive process".

"What happened to them was extraordinary and the airline has not answered for it," he said.

"The airline has never stepped up and clients have been forced to undertake complex and potentially very expensive litigation to try to enforce their rights and seek redress."

Bradley said his clients want Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker to appear before the inquiry.

Opposition transport spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said she was concerned the women were being used as a "front" for the decision to reject the extra flights.

The senator has also accused the government of having a cosy relationship with Qantas and suggested the carrier's support of the Yes campaign for the upcoming referendum could have been done to bolster its political sway with the government.

Former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce during the Senate Select Committee on the Cost of Living at Parliament House, Melbourne. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett

Tuesday's hearings will focus on consumer concerns and issues at Sydney Airport after a June report from the consumer watchdog alleged Qantas had cancelled flights to keep take-off and landing slots at the east coast airport.

Qatar Airways chief executive Akbar Al Baker was invited to the Tuesday hearing but declined, though he could appear at a later date.

Labor senator Tony Sheldon said he was "very disappointed" and that Baker was no more above the law or parliamentary scrutiny than Qantas chairperson Richard Goyder or its CEO Vanessa Hudson.

"Qatar Airways and the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority need to be hauled before this committee in the coming days," he said in a statement.

Qantas facing a tidal wave of costly marketing disasters

Qantas has faced a recent storm of PR disasters marked by a Senate grilling on its $2.47 billion profit during a cost-of-living crisis, and a potential $250 million fine from the consumer watchdog for flight cancellations.

Compounding these issues are its former CEO Alan Joyce's expedited exit, and a major High Court loss which found the airline had illegally sacked 1,600 workers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The committee will hold four public hearings, one each in Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Canberra.

Submissions for the inquiry closed on Monday and it is due to report by October 9.