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Qantas attacks Emirates 'fiction'By Geoff Hiscock  Jackson says Qantas rival Emirates gets a high level of government support. YOUR E-MAIL ALERTSSYDNEY, Australia (CNN) -- Australian carrier Qantas Airways has stepped up its attack on Dubai-based rival Emirates, claiming it is "fiction" to say the government-owned airline competes on the same terms as other airlines. Qantas has long been a critic of what it sees as the level of government support given to some of its key competitors, notably Emirates and Singapore Airlines. But Emirates, which has moved aggressively into key routes such as London-Sydney, has consistently claimed it pays its own way, gets no "free money" from Dubai's rulers and pays the same as other airlines for jet fuel. Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson said Wednesday that Emirates was 100 percent owned by the government of Dubai. "To suggest that Emirates is competing on similar terms as commercially-run airlines like Qantas is, quite frankly, fiction," she said. Jackson said government ownership provided a sovereign risk rating that allowed Emirates to carry debt levels far higher than publicly listed carriers such as Qantas. She said Emirates paid no company tax in Dubai, and its chairman, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, was a member of the ruling family and head of the Dubai Department of Civil Aviation, which ran Dubai Airport. "As Qantas has observed before, life must be wonderfully simple when the airline, government and airport interests are all controlled by the same people," Jackson said. Emirates President Tim Clark, who has been in Australia for this week's Melbourne Cup horse race -- sponsored by Emirates -- said the airline wanted to double its flights in and out of Australia from 42 to 84. That has evoked a furious response from Qantas, which said the Emirates request to the Australian government was "extravagant" and flew in the face of fair competition. Emirates' push for extra flights into Australia, along with a similar request from Singapore Airlines to compete with Qantas on flights from Australia across the Pacific to the United States, comes as the Australian government nears completion of a review of international airline regulation. The result of the review, which is expected to see greater competition on routes to and from Australia, is likely to be released before the end of the year. Jackson said Qantas and other listed airlines would be more profitable and be able to invest more if they had the same "government-sponsored" benefits as Emirates. "No one can be in any doubt that Emirates' remarkable growth reflects the aggressive and coordinated strategies of its owners, the government of Dubai, to build a world class hub to grow tourism and business," she said. Profit figureIn April, Emirates reported a profit of $637 million for the year ending March 31, 2005, but expects higher fuel prices will have an impact on the 2006 result. In comparison, Qantas reported a profit in August of Aust. $648 million (about $486 million) for the year to June 30. Qantas is in the middle of considering a $15 billion fleet upgrade and is being courted by rival makers Airbus and Boeing. Airbus will land its giant A380 super-jumbo in Australia next week as part of its general pitch. Qantas is already a buyer of the A380, as are Emirates and Singapore Airlines, which both see it as attractive for the long-haul routes between Europe and Australia. Despite Emirates' impressive growth in recent years, it may face increasing pressure closer to home, as two other Middle East-based carriers, newcomer Etihad Airlines and a revamped Qatar Airlines, push for more routes and passengers. Etihad is also an early buyer of the Airbus A380. 
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