Why Qantas quit AAPA

“Looking at our priorities we felt that a low-cost carrier was more of a focus for us within the Asian region. The AAPA hasn’t been able to penetrate LCCs,” he said.

The bottom line? Qantas through its new-found relationship with AirAsia Group chief, Tony Fernandes, which led to the cementing of the recent LCC alliance between its subsidiary Jetstar and AirAsia “is probably a better way for us leveraging these type of relationships going forward and our government to government relationships in those areas”.

Joyce said Qantas had been conducting a review of its interactions with governments. “We felt our resources, and every airline has limited resources, were probably more focussed on separate areas. One is the Australian government, which we can do better ourselves in Canberra because we have our own resources,” he said.

“Internationally, we have had an active role with IATA (International Air Transport Association) for some time. The role of IATA has become stronger over the last decade in the Asia-Pacific region.”

Joyce denied quitting the AAPA to save on membership fees.