Will AUSBT interview BA to get their take on Qantas' unilateral dissolution of the BA/QF JVA?

Will AUSBT interview BA to get their take on Qantas' unilateral dissolution of the BA/QF JVA?

It's not unilateral - Qantas discussed with BA, they didn't just run off and break up. We're waiting for a response from BA but don't expect anything apart from guarded politically-correct language. What's happening is mostly going to be under the surface.

Thanks for clarifying. It seems "unilateral" from the reporting in the Australian media. Nothing in the British papers, with the exception of the Guardian. Not even the Independent, which usually has quite  a good travel section.

Probably because the announcement at 10am here would have been 1am in London. That said I'd fully expect BA to have some statement ready, and would even have thought this might have been timed to go out when the QF release did... am sure we'll see more wash up from this tonight.

TRB: there was in fact a comment from Willie Walsh, CEO of BA parent IAG, in the statement issued by Qantas earlier today, and pretty much as you'd expect...

Surely though the ending of on-carriage from QF via LHR onto BA intra-Europe is going to have a small dent in the BA pockets don't you think?

There will still be QF passengers that want to fly QF metal all the way to London.

Depending on how the status points situation pans out, that number could be substantial.

These passengers will still make their final connections in London with BA

One of the most disapointing elements of the BA/QF relationship was BA's decision not to honour Qantas Club (QC) member's access to BA Lounges. From what appears to be a technicality i.e. the rebranding of BA lounges from "Terraces" to "Galleries", BA effectively locked out QC members and consequently made BA intra-European flights unattractive for all but Elite OW members (Sapphire/Emerald).

Given that QC members can now access EK lounges in DXB, I do not see why anyone not flying in Club Europe on BA or with Elite OW status would want to fly with BA. Particularly when (hopefully) status credits can be earned on EK operated flights.

Given how quiet they were on the subject, status credits on EK flights are no certainty IMO.

If status credits is not a given, then what's the point? Everyone knows the essence of frequent flyer points is not in the mileage earned but in the benefits that status brings.

So if there is no corresponding increase in status, with increased flying, QF FF members might as well trek through to LHR on QF metal and take a BA flight to Europe, where status credits are earned as part of the OW relationship.

Doesn't this then make the QF/EK tie up pretty much pointless? Unless of course you've got Platinum 1 and cannot go any further or you're straggling in between Silver/Gold or Gold/Platinum and know that you're not going to hit the next level in the current accrual year.

Maybe you've hit it on the head.

The status chasers will do just that, stay on QF metal and keep feeding BA. This helps soften the termination of the JSA.

This agreement benefits the leisure traveller and credit card point collector by offering more one stop destinations than just LHR.

This is where QF has lost the leisure market. Holiday makers want to go to Paris and Rome. The EK tie up allows QF to attract leisure passengers away from SQ, CX, MH, TG

QF have to keep their premium passengers on QF seats all the way to Europe to lift profits. They can do this by not offering status on EK metal