Qantas Group recovery gathers speed

An earlier recovery in domestic travel received a major setback from lockdowns during the peak Christmas and New Year travel period, which had a prolonged impact on customer confidence. This cost the Group an estimated $400 million in lost earnings (EBITDA) for FY21.

The recent Brisbane lockdown came on the eve of the peak Easter travel period but was much shorter and was met with far more measured responses from various states. The direct impact on the Qantas Group is estimated at $29 million (EBITDA) for FY21.

The current environment is characterised by extremely strong leisure demand – helped by the Federal Government’s half-price fare offer – and the return of the majority of corporate and small to medium business travel. As a result, the Group is revising its estimates of reaching 80 per cent of its pre-COVID domestic capacity for the fourth quarter of FY21 and is now expecting this to be beyond 90 per cent, provided there are no significant border closures.

The Group’s short-term strategy remains generating positive cashflow rather than returning to pre-COVID profit margins – meaning the positive impact on FY21 earnings from this increased activity will be relatively small. In turn, this means even more low fares that will continue to stimulate demand.

The continued growth in domestic capacity is expected to continue into FY22, with Jetstar to reach 120 per cent of pre-COVID levels, and Qantas to be at 107 per cent.

The Qantas Group continues to respond to new travel demand patterns, which has led to 34 new domestic routes being added since July last year. This continued focus on maintaining its strategic and competitive position, including its network and frequency advantages, puts the Group’s market share at around 70 per cent.

The Group has engaged Alliance Airlines to operate three Embraer E190 aircraft from May to provide capacity on existing Qantas routes in northern and central Australia. Under an agreement announced earlier this year, Qantas can access up to 14 E190 aircraft from Alliance Airlines, giving it the flexibility to respond to changes in demand.

During the fourth quarter, 90 per cent of the Group’s aircraft will be active, compared with just 25 per cent at the height of the national lockdown in mid-2020. Qantas and Jetstar will have more aircraft operating on domestic and resources markets than pre-COVID, including all Boeing 737s and Airbus A320/A321s. Some aircraft which operate international flights including the entire A380 fleet (which are in long-term storage) and some Airbus A330s and Jetstar 787-8s, have not resumed flying.

All Qantas’ 787-9s have been reactivated and are operating repatriation flights on behalf of the Australian Government and some freight-only services. 

Qantas and Jetstar have seen strong demand since the two-way trans-Tasman bubble was announced with tens of thousands of bookings made in the first few days. The rate of Frequent Flyers using Qantas Points to book seats on the Tasman was 80 times higher than normal for the first four hours.

Flight bookings for the first few weeks of travel are stronger out of Australia than New Zealand, with capacity reduced to reflect demand patterns seen during the short two-week booking period. From late-May, Qantas has added more flights to fill gaps left in the market and meet expected demand over the ski season.

Qantas has announced its international First lounges in Sydney and Melbourne along with its Premium Lounge in Brisbane will reopen from 19 April 2021 to coincide with the trans-Tasman travel bubble. These lounges have been closed for more than a year.

Platinum One, Platinum and Gold frequent flyers along with Business customers and Qantas Club members flying on the Tasman will be invited to visit these two First lounges until the airline’s other international lounges reopen. 

Preparations for the reopening of international borders and the resumption of international flights in late October (beyond flights between Australia and New Zealand) are continuing, including reactivating aircraft and training employees.

The Group maintains flexibility to bring forward, push back or stagger the resumption of our international flights to align with any updates to the Australian Government’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout timeline or approach to international travel.

Additional flexibility for Qantas international bookings is in place to allow fee-free flight date changes to enable customers to book flights with confidence. 

Qantas and Accor have signed a new seven-year agreement for the world-leading hospitality group to continue management of Qantas lounges in Australia and overseas.

The new agreement is an extension of the 14-year partnership with Accor providing day-to-day management of food and beverage services and employee training across the airline’s network of domestic and international lounges.