Qantas aircraft are seen on the tarmac at Melbourne International Airport in Melbourne, Australia, November 6, 2018. REUTERS/Phil Noble//File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsCompanies Qantas Airways Ltd FollowSYDNEY, Aug 31 (Reuters) - Australia's competition regulator sued Qantas Airways (QAN.AX) on Thursday, accusing it of selling tickets to thousands of flights after they were cancelled, putting the airline at risk of huge fines and reputational turbulence. The airline kept selling tickets for an average of 16 days after it had cancelled flights for reasons often within its control, such as "network optimisation", the ACCC added. Qantas kept selling tickets to one Sydney-to-San Francisco flight 40 days after it had been cancelled, the regulator said. At the Senate hearing, Joyce confirmed Qantas had written to the federal government in 2022 asking it to deny a request from Qatar Airways, a Qantas competitor on international routes, to increase flights to Australia.

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Persons: Phil Noble, Rico Merkert, Alan Joyce, Joyce, Gina Cass, Gottlieb, Byron Kaye, Poonam, Shailesh Kuber, Rashmi Aich, Gerry Doyle, Edmund Klamann Organizations: Qantas, Melbourne International Airport, REUTERS, Rights Companies Qantas Airways Ltd, SYDNEY, Qantas Airways, Australian Competition, Consumer Commission, ACCC, Sydney University's Institute of Transport, Logistics Studies, Australia, Senate, Qatar Airways, Qatar, Thomson Locations: Melbourne, Australia, Sydney, Francisco, Bengaluru