Singapore competition authority invites comment on proposed joint business covering 30 overlapping routes as carriers seek metal-neutral operations
Singapore is seeking public feedback on the proposed cargo partnership between Qatar Airways, IAG Cargo and MAB Kargo that includes co-operation on scheduling, pricing, sales and marketing as they seek to achieve metal neutrality.
The Competition and Consumer Commission of Singapore (CCS) said that the airlines had on 16 January applied for a decision on whether their proposed joint business agreement would infringe section 34 of its competition act, which prevents agreements that distort competition.
According to CCS, the agreement will allow the parties to ”cooperate on scheduling, pricing, sales and marketing, and other commercial activities with a view to achieving metal neutrality”.
The proposed agreement would cover services across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Americas routes and would generate "significant consumer and economic benefits and efficiencies”, the applicants said.
CCS described metal neutrality as a cooperative airline arrangement where partners "jointly manage capacity and pricing whilst sharing profits equally, making them indifferent to which airline’s plane or 'metal' carries the cargo".
Other claimed benefits of the arrangement are: Cost-effective and efficient cargo operations, resulting in higher quality air cargo services and expedited transfers of shipments; enhanced cargo network and capacity; elimination of double marginalisation; cost synergies; wider range of products, services and rate options; and streamlined sales and integrated customer experience.
According to the application, there are 30 overlapping routes that include Singapore.
The competition authority is inviting public feedback on plans between 23 January and 25 February.
"CCS is interested to hear views on the impact of the Proposed JB Agreement on competition," it said.
The three airlines announced they would launch a joint global cargo business in April 2025 and provided more details on the plans at a press conference at the Air Cargo Europe event.
The three cargo divisions said the unique partnership would align cargo from booking to delivery, across their networks.
The Qatar-IAG-MAS partnership aims to ensure bookings with any of the airlines will be integrated and visible across all operating systems, covering the whole combined network.
Real-time tracking, product/service alignment for various verticals and a singular loyalty programme - Avios - will also be used.
The aim is to ensure that shipments are treated equally throughout the combined network, regardless of which airline a customer or forwarder originally booked with, they explained at the press conference.
At the time of the press conference, the partners did not reveal too many details on the financial elements of the agreement.
However, at the conference, Qatar Airways chief cargo officer Mark Drusch said the focus is “how do we generate more revenue for each other”.
He said they have designed the partnership to ensure that “we are getting a bigger share of an important market” and that “each one of us is together bringing more than if we approach it individually”.
Drusch stressed all the airlines are in an equal partnership and it is a joint business (JB), not a joint venture (JV) and therefore “there is no financial investment in anybody else”.
