Australia’s competition regulator is weighing a five-year joint venture between Singapore Airlines and All Nippon Airways that would let the two carriers coordinate schedules capacity, pricing and revenue on services linking Australia and Japan as well as selected onward markets. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission issued a draft determination in late July proposing to grant the authorisation. Submissions close on 7 August with a final decision expected in August or September. Interim permission already allows the airlines to discuss and plan but not yet implement the cooperation.
The arrangement covers passenger services between Japan and Australia along with routes involving Singapore, India, Indonesia and Malaysia. It includes both direct flights operated by ANA and one stop services operated by Singapore Airlines via its hub. The carriers would share revenue on certain Australia Japan routes and align network planning inventory management sales and marketing. Authorisation is sought for five years under a joint venture agreement the two airlines signed in April 2025.
If approved the partnership would create a coordinated high quality Asian network alternative on a market long dominated by Qantas, Jetstar and Japan Airlines. Singapore Airlines and ANA already rank among the strongest full service carriers in the region on product and reliability. Joint scheduling and revenue sharing would allow them to offer more seamless connections and potentially denser capacity without the cost or regulatory complexity of a full merger. For Australian passengers the practical effect could be more schedule options and stronger competition on fares and service levels to Japan.
The ACCC process reflects the modern reality of airline alliances. Competition authorities increasingly examine metal neutral joint ventures as carefully as ownership changes because coordinated pricing and capacity can reshape markets just as effectively. Earlier submissions from travel groups and rival carriers including Japan Airlines have already flagged concerns about reduced independent competition. The regulator’s draft view that the public benefits outweigh the detriments will now be tested against the final round of comments closing today.
The outcome matters beyond Australia Japan flows. A successful SIA ANA joint venture would demonstrate how two network carriers can deepen cooperation across multiple Asian markets while remaining separate companies. It would also intensify pressure on the Qantas Japan Airlines relationship and on Jetstar’s leisure capacity. In an era of constrained aircraft deliveries and higher fuel costs the ability to pool schedules and share revenue without buying metal offers a powerful competitive tool. Whether that tool ultimately expands choice or concentrates power on the Australia Japan corridor will depend on the ACCC’s final determination and how the partners then deploy the authorised coordination.