The ink was barely dry on the published fare levels of new Australian budget carrier Impulse Airlines when Qantas and Ansett muscled their way into the fray with fares that matched Impulse's offer.
Not far behind, though, was the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission which began monitoring the local airline industry when first Qantas and then Ansett clipped their Sydney-to-Melbourne fares in response to Impulse's launch of its no-frills service between the two cities.
Impulse is offering an unrestricted A$139 (US$81)each-way fare between Sydney and Melbourne, the world's third busiest domestic trunk route. Qantas and Ansett each introduced similar fares and also matched Impulse's A$119 each-way fare between Sydney and Canberra.