Qantas hails return of New York route but counts more losses

The Sydney-Auckland-JFK route will recommence on 14 June 2023 after a three-year hiatus.

QF3 and QF4 will operate three days a week initially, with the New Zealand-US leg taking 16 hours. Flights will be on Boeing 787s.

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce said: “We’re back flying to most of our pre-Covid destinations, which is a fantastic achievement by our teams and so important for Australians reconnecting with the rest of the world.

“We can’t wait to return to New York and it’s made possible by the delivery of new aircraft, which have been caught up in delays that have impacted lots of airlines.

“Customer feedback on our direct London and Rome services show how well suited our Dreamliner cabins are to longer international flights like these, which is helped by the fact we designed them with more room and fewer seats than most of our competitors.”

The airline reported a £1.09 billion underlying pre-tax loss for 2021/22, but made £310 million in the second half of the year. Qantas said the loss also reflected the costs of restarting operations after lockdown, which continued far longer in Australia than in most other countries. The carrier made £404 million from the sale of land to reduce its Covid debt.

Qantas said: “While the first three quarters of the year were defined by border closures and waves of uncertainty caused by Covid variants, the fourth quarter saw the highest sustained levels of travel demand since the start of the pandemic. 

“Overall, the group’s flying levels for the year averaged at 33% of pre-pandemic levels but finished at 68%.”

Joyce added: “This result takes the statutory loss before tax impact of Covid on the Qantas Group to nearly $7 billion and our total revenue losses to $25 billion. These figures are staggering and getting through to the other side has obviously been tough.”