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Virgin Australia wins crew backing for Denpasar Bali route
January 29th 2024
Australia's competition regulator and unions representing cabin crew, pilots and airport workers are backing Virgin Australia (VA) over Qantas Group in applications from the two airlines for more Australia-Bali flights. Read More » Late in 2023, Qantas Group sought an additional allocation of capacity from Australia's International Air Services Commission (IASC) for its LCC, Jetstar Airways, to operate Cairns-Melbourne-Denpasar and Adelaide-Perth-Denpasar. In response, VA applied to launch Adelaide-Perth-Denpasar and Gold Coast-Perth-Denpasar. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) said in its submission in support of the VA proposal “it would appear to be more conducive to fostering a competitive environment and a broader distribution of capacity than the proposal from Qantas”. The Flight Attendants' Association of Australia (FAAA) has endorsed VA's application and highlighted the fact the airline's flights to Denpasar were operated by Australia-based cabin crew but Jetstar employed non-Australian crews on many of its international services, including Denpasar. The Transport Workers Union of Australia said: “Prioritising directly hired local jobs is essential to the long-term stability of aviation in Australia and the maintenance of high levels of safety and service.”
