{"streaming_server":"rtmp:\/\/s2svek4dh1hfyu.cloudfront.net\/cfx\...

.

Qantas Airways Limited’s (ASX:QAN) chief Alan Joyce has claimed Australia’s largest airline will protect its market share in the face of increasing competition from Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (ASX:VAH) and Tiger Airways.

Mr Joyce has told the Australian Financial Review the company believes its optimal position, from a profit point of view, is a 65 percent share of the domestic market.

Mr Joyce also says the airline is entitled to defend its position and will allow whatever capacity it has to add in order to maintain its dominance.

The AFR says domestic capacity is expected to rise by 21 per cent in the coming months, which could result in dropping prices for flights. 

The report suggests Qantas is planning to boost capacity by up to 13 per cent and Virgin is planning to boost capacity by up to 18 per cent.

Qantas posted a net profit of $42 million in the first half of its 2012 financial year.