iscover
Qantas has “categorically” denied accusations of slot hoarding before a parliamentary inquiry.
In a hearing by the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport on Tuesday, Nationals Senator Bridget McKenzie noted the Flying Kangaroo’s dominance over slots at Sydney Airport and accused the group of “gaming the system”.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
As reported by The Australian Financial Review, in figures from the middle of 2024, for the morning peak – 6am to 11am on weekdays – Qantas held 103 take-off slots, with Virgin holding 57 and Rex only seven.
“It’s been part of your business plan to game that system, and you’ve been very successful at it, because you are the gorilla in the room,” Senator McKenzie said.
“You use that power to your advantage. That’s what we’re seeking to change here.”
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson, however, pushed back forcefully on the accusations, insisting that Qantas intends to use every slot it applies for.
“We only apply for the slots that we know we will operate, that we intend to operate. Yes, there are disruptions on the day, there are cancellations due to weather, engineering or whatever reason it might be,” Svensson said.
“I categorically deny that we slot hoard or trying to play any games here. We do use our slots, we intend to use them … and that’s why we have so many of them.”
A slot is a literal time slot that allows an airline to take off at a specific airport at a particular time.
Currently, an airline can hold a time slot at an airport indefinitely as long as it flies it 80 per cent of the time, allowing carriers to cancel up to a fifth and block out rivals from the best times.
The rules are necessary because two aircraft cannot simultaneously take off on the same runway, but have led to accusations that major carriers are effectively gaming the system to take advantage, though both Qantas and Virgin have vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
Slot management at Sydney Airport was put out to tender earlier this year. The company currently managing the slots, Airport Coordination Australia (ACA), has board representation from Qantas, Virgin, the Regional Aviation Association of Australia, and the airport itself, but has insisted it is impartial in determining who is allocated slots.
A number of reforms, including more transparency and accountability measures such as civil penalties for “slot hoarding”, as well as improving access to peak slots for new entrants and regional carriers, and the implementation of a “recovery period” to temporarily boost the airport’s capacity after major disruptions, were introduced to Parliament last month.
Richard Daniell
says:REX never used its slots anyway and were handing them back. And Bonza never even asked for any from SYD.
Slot hoarding is a myth.
If REX or anyone else wanted them, there are plenty on offer if they want them and of course QF and VA manage this as an asset, they’d be stupid not to.