Qantas and American Just Locked In Their Pacific Pact Until 2031

Australia’s competition regulator has given final approval for Qantas and American Airlines to keep running their trans-Pacific joint business. According to the Centre for Aviation, the ACCC issued its final determination on October 14, and the authorisation runs for five years, until October 30, 2031. The two carriers have held similar arrangements since 2011.

The approval covers joint operations between and within Australia and the United States, New Zealand, Canada and Mexico. In practice, a joint business lets the airlines coordinate schedules and pricing and share revenue on the routes it covers, the kind of cooperation that competition law normally restricts without a formal sign-off.

The carriers applied for the extension on November 24, 2025. The ACCC had granted interim authorisation in the meantime, and a final decision had been scheduled for June 2026, so the outcome lands later than first planned. Aviation Week’s route roundup also noted the authorization running through October 30, 2031.

For travelers, the headline benefit is continuity: the arrangement behind coordinated connections, loyalty benefits and codeshares across the Pacific stays in place for another five years. The reports list no conditions beyond the term. Whether fares or competition on the route move as a result is not something the approval itself answers.

Sources: Centre for Aviation, Aviation Week