Qantas says fares will remain high as it returns to profit

The group, which comprises Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar, recorded a pre-tax profit of £81 million for the six months to 31 December 2022. 

Qantas Group chief executive Joyce said: “This is a huge turnaround considering the massive losses we were facing just 12 months ago.”

The result, for the first half of the current financial year, ends three years of losses during Covid totalling almost £4 billion.

Qantas said the result was due to “consistently strong travel demand, higher yields and cost improvements” from its $1 billion recovery programme nearing completion. Total operating margin reached 16% and came despite significantly higher fuel prices.

Joyce added: “When we restructured the business at the start of Covid, it was to make sure we could bounce back quickly when travel returned. That’s effectively what’s happened, but it’s the strength of the demand that has driven such a strong result.

“Fares have risen because of higher fuel costs, but also because supply chain and resourcing issues meant capacity hasn’t kept up with demand. Now those challenges are starting to unwind, we can add more capacity and that will put downward pressure on fares.”

Average Qantas fares are 20% higher than pre-pandemic, in part due to a 65% increase in the price of fuel, itself a combination of higher price, a stronger dollar – in which fuel is purchased – and higher refiner margins.

Qantas said it expected fares “to moderate” during the second half of 2023 but to remain “significantly above 2019 levels”. It added international capacity would rise from the current 60% of previous total to 81% this year, with domestic increasing from 94% to 103%.