QANTAS Group returns to being profitable, halving its losses on international routes

QANTAS Airways (Sydney) is already reaping the benefits of its new relationship with Emirates (Dubai) and the changes it has already made on its international route structure. The QANTAS Group has been shedding unprofitable international routes, cutting jobs, reducing capital spending and selling assets in order to reduce its debt. The QANTAS Group reported a fiscal year underlying profit before tax of A$192 million ($171.5 million), a statutory profit before tax of A$17 million ($15.1 million) and a statutory profit after tax of A$6 million ($5.3 million) for the year ended June 30, 2013.

QANTAS Domestic, Jetstar Airways and QANTAS Loyalty were all profitable, while QANTAS International halved its
underlying EBIT losses.

On the domestic front which is softening, QANTAS is facing stiff competition from Virgin Australia Airlines (Brisbane).

Read the analysis by Reuters: CLICK HERE

Read the full report from QANTAS: CLICK HERE

In other news, QANTAS also announced a series of improvements to its international network:

The improvements are:

Starting a new route, Perth–Auckland*, to be offered on a seasonal basis between early December and the end of January, operated by a QANTAS A330 aircraft twice per week.

Upgrading one return Sydney–Hong Kong service to an Airbus A380 aircraft, increasing the number of A380 return services on this route from four to five per week.

Increasing frequency to daily on Brisbane–Los Angeles* using the aircraft made available by the A380 upgrade on the Hong Kong route.

Retiming Qantas’ existing Sydney–Christchurch* service so that it connects with more international services from Sydney and complements the existing Emirates service on this route.

QANTAS Group Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce and Gareth Evans head the briefing.

*Subject to regulatory approval

The schedule is being progressively loaded from today for travel after 27 October 2013

ROUTE	CHANGE	EFFECTIVE DATE	CUSTOMER BENEFIT
Perth–Auckland	New route, seasonal.Two return services per week, departing Perth on Friday and Saturday, using a QANTAS A330.	First service from Perth will be 6 December 2013.Last service from Auckland will be 1 February 2014.	Adding almost 1,000 seats per week to what is currently a monopoly route over the busy Christmas and summer holiday period.An internationally configured A330 with Skybeds used on the route.
Sydney–Hong Kong	Upgrading one return service per week from a B747 to A380.Increases the number of A380 services on this route from four to five per week, with the remainder operated by B747s.	4 November 2013	Increase in capacity by almost 5 per cent per week.Additional A380 flying into Asia.
Brisbane–Los Angeles	Increase in the number of services on this route from six to seven using a B747.	2 December 2013	Additional convenience of a daily service from Brisbane.Increase in capacity on this route by about 15 per cent per week.
Sydney–Christchurch	QANTAS flight retimed from morning to evening, meaning that the return flight (Christchurch to Sydney) arrives in Sydney at 8:50am instead of 3:55pm. Qantas code available on Emirates flight from Christchurch, which leaves at 4:55pm to arrive in Sydney at 6:15pm. Qantas code also available on Jetstar flight from Christchurch, which leaves at 6.35am to arrive in Sydney at 8.05am.	27 October 2013	Greatly improved onward connections for customers flying from Christchurch to Sydney and then to onward international and domestic flights.Removes need for South Island residents to fly via Auckland to connect with key international flights out of Sydney.Complements the existing Emirates service by providing a double daily service scheduled at either end of the day.