Following five straight halves of heavy losses, Qantas has forecast a profit well in excess of $1 billion for the first half of the 2022/23 financial year (FY23) with strong demand accelerating the Qantas Group’s recovery.
The national airline announced this morning that based on forward bookings, fuel prices and its expected performance during the second quarter, the company would turn in an Underlying Profit Before Tax of between $1.2 billion and $1.3 billion in H1 FY23. By 31 December 2022, net debt is anticipated to drop to around $3.2 billion.
With the return of additional A380s and delivery of three new B787-9 Dreamliners, Qantas expects group international capacity to rise to 77 per cent of pre-COVID levels in the second half of FY23, while domestic capacity will lift to 100 per cent of pre-pandemic levels over the same period.
The flag carrier also announced improvements in its domestic operating performances, with on-time performance increasing to 69 per cent in September and averaging 75 per cent so far in October despite extreme weather conditions.
Additionally, flight cancellations are down to just 1.7 per cent in October compared to 4 per cent in August, while mishandled bags are at 6 per 1,000 passengers in September and October.
Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said it was “clear that maintaining our pre-COVID service levels requires a lot more operational buffer than it used to, especially when you consider the sick leave spikes and supply chain delays that the whole industry is dealing with”.
“That means having more crew and more aircraft on standby and adjusting our flying schedule to help make that possible until we’re confident that extra support is no longer needed,” he remarked.
On the back of improved financial and operating performances, Qantas said it would invest a further $200 million for the remainder of FY23 into rostering extra crew, training new recruits and overtime in such areas as contact centres.
The Group also revealed that after a two-year freeze, annual wage rises would be adjusted from 2 per cent to 3 per cent, representing an extra $40 million per annum for staff and a return to pre-Covid levels. The airline said around 20,000 employees would benefit from the new measures.
The announcement comes after Qantas denied a claim by the Flight Attendants Association of Australia that the airline had threatened to outsource some domestic cabin crew if they did not sign a new agreement that “dramatically cut conditions”.
An airline spokesperson told The Australian it was “not our plan to outsource this work” and that the carrier was focused on “reaching an agreement with our people”.
Elsewhere, Qantas and Jetstar have unveiled a massive domestic sale with more than 1 million fares available from $35 one-way.
On Monday, Qantas announced that it would resume direct Brisbane-Tokyo flights from 1 December 2022.
To find out more, visit qantas.com
