Qantas dumps plan to acquire Alliance Aviation

The news: Qantas has abandoned its plans to fully acquire charter operator Alliance Aviation after the competition watchdog knocked back the bid earlier this year.

The numbers: Australia’s biggest airline said it will retain a nearly 20% stake in Alliance, and also continue a long-term agreement that sees Alliance operate 30 aircraft for Qantas. That finally ends its May 2022 bid to acquire full control of Alliance for $614 million.

The context: The decision comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) rejected the takeover in April 2023 because it would have combined two of the top three players in the fly-in-fly-out charter market in WA and Queensland. Qantas on Thursday said while both companies continued to believe the acquisition would have created customer value, there is no reasonable path forward for the deal at present. The airline will serve the growing resources sector through its existing charter operations.