On Tuesday, Qatar Airways announced it would buy 25% of Virgin Australia, which is bad news for Qantas (QAN). QAN was fortuitous in that Qatar was not allowed to take extra routes into Australia in mid-2023. Labor’s logic was flawed, in our opinion, and Australia paid the price with higher airfares, adding monies to Allan Joyce & Qantas’s coffers. Now, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, Qatar is again preparing to dual with Qantas, and the flying kangaroo should be concerned; the only question is ultimately how bad it will be for margins.
- We see no compelling reason to buy QAN in light of this confrontational move by Qatar.
MM is neutral towards QAN, around $7
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