Qantas has announced it plans to fly to “COVID-safe destinations” like Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, the US, Japan, the United Kingdom and Fiji from late December as vaccination rates improve.
The move is likely to spark a flurry of buying activity as tickets on its site are still considered good value.
In words that would easily be echoed by cruise ship operators, CEO Alan Joyce said trading conditions under lockdown and border closures were “diabolical” and the airline had made a $1.7 billion statutory after-tax loss for the 2021 financial year.
“This loss shows the impact that a full year of closed international borders and more than 330 days of domestic travel restrictions had on the national carrier” he said. “By the end of this calendar year, it’s likely COVID will cost us more than $20 billion in revenue. The trading conditions have frankly been diabolical”.
Qantas is optimistic that Australia will hit its 70 per cent vaccination target in November, and that would trigger a return to unrestricted domestic travel.
The airline also feels international travel will gradually resume from December after 80 per cent of the eligible population is vaccinated.
The airline predicted flights to Hong Kong will resume in February, but those nations with low vaccinations rates won’t be considered until April. That includes Bali, Jakarta, Manila, Bangkok, Phuket, Ho Chi Minh City and Johannesburg.
