Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) shares are in the green today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock closed flat yesterday, trading for $5.37. In morning trade on Wednesday, shares are swapping hands for $5.41 apiece, up 0.7%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.6% at this same time.
That's today' price action for you.
Now here's what's happening with Turkish Airlines' ambitions down under.
Image source: Getty Images
Turkish Airlines growing Aussie footprint
Qantas shares could be getting some increased competition from Turkish Airlines, one of the world's top 10 airlines.
As The Australian Financial Review reported, Transport Minister Catherine King recently inked an agreement that will see flights from Australia to Turkey quintuple. The agreement enables Turkish Airlines to fly 28 weekly flights to Australia in 2024 and 35 flights a week in 2025.
Qatar Airways has the rights to 28 weekly flights into Australia. Unlike the row over expanding Qatar access down under, Qantas made no objection to the deal with Turkish Airlines.
The deal looks more likely to impact competitors like Qatar and Emirates than Qantas. But Qantas shares could take a hit if Turkish Airlines goes ahead with its tentative plans to launch non-stop flights to Istanbul, competing with Qantas' plans to fly non-stop to London.
Another potential headwind for Qantas shares is the government's doubling of flights to Vietnam by 2025.
According to Analytic Flying, "Arguably, this is a more significant threat to Qantas."
Analytic Flying noted "the significant scope that Vietnam Airways and VietJet Air have for connecting traffic to/from large and important markets throughout Asia" including China and India, the world's two most populous nations.
Analytic Flying added, "The exceptionally low-cost base that Vietnamese carriers enjoy in comparison to Qantas gives them significant advantages."
How have Qantas shares been tracking longer-term?
Qantas shares have some way to go before shaking off the past four months' malaise, with shares remaining down 9% year to date.
