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Newcastle Airport general manager Andrew Warrender has said that airline partnerships are increasingly playing a crucial role in shaping the country’s domestic aviation landscape.
Ahead of his appearance at the Australian Aviation Summit 2025, Warrender, the executive general manager of airlines and governance, argued that Virgin’s partnership with Qatar and Qantas’ tie-up with Emirates have huge implications for the sector.
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At the Australian Aviation Summit, Warrender will join other panellists, including Rob Walker, CEO of the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, for an exclusive discussion surrounding their observations of the current aviation landscape.
Speaking to Australian Aviation, Warrender said the partnership between Virgin Australia and Qatar Airways will affect the balance of competition in domestic aviation.
“Firstly, it gives Virgin the ability to compete in that international space and to feed their domestic network. In the long term, this will be good for the resilience of the airline,” he said.
In fact, Virgin Australia has surpassed Qantas Airways to become Australia’s largest domestic airline by market share — the first time Qantas has dropped from the top position since early 2022.
Virgin Australia makes up a 35 per cent share of our domestic market, narrowly edging out Qantas’ 34.6 per cent as of December 2024, according to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
“Virgin growing in resilience is good for everyone in the aviation sector, Australia needs at least two strong domestic airlines,” Warrender said.
While Virgin has overtaken Qantas in domestic market share, a strong response is unlikely, according to Warrender.
“I don’t see either Qantas or Virgin currently signalling a capacity war. However, pricing is becoming more competitive, which is good for the consumer,” he added.
As the market evolves, major partnerships will likely play a critical role in driving development and growth across Australia’s aviation industry.
“We are approaching what might be very interesting times in the Australian Aviation landscape,” he concluded.
To hear Andrew Warrender discuss his exclusive observations on the current aviation landscape, come along to the Australian Aviation Summit 2025.
Run in partnership with Principal Partner, Leidos, the summit will be held on Thursday, 14 August 2025 at Ilumina, Sydney.
To learn more about the summit, including the agenda and speakers, click here.
