Qantas, Australia Post to merge joint ventures

QANTAS plans to merge the two joint freight ventures it operates with Australia Post – Australian Air Express (AAE) and Star Track Express.

The Australian carrier hopes that the proposed merger will cut costs and invigorate both ventures’ performance, which have been lacklustre and “haven’t moved substantially” unlike Qantas’ own freight operations.

Qantas also vowed to remain equal partner with Australia Post in the ventures.

The merger now hangs on a review due in early October.

Qantas’ group executive for commercial and freight, Rob Gurney, said: “We believe there is a lot of head room for improvements in the financial performance of the businesses. One of the reasons we did the review is that we are not happy with the performance.”

Star Track express has been suffering under competition from Toll Holdings, which is currently expanding rapidly.