It’s been a difficult few months for the airline industry, and Australia’s national carrier Qantas has not been immune to its effects.
The company has reduced its domestic growth forecast in the face of a variety of problems – including the continued disruption caused by volcanic ash.
Cancellations
Qantas now expects domestic capacity to grow by just 5.5 per cent this year – that’s compared to the previous estimate of eight per cent. The news comes after it cancelled all flights in and out of Perth as ash from the Puyehur-Cordon Caulle volcano in Chile spread further.
Flights had already been suspended to and from Tasmania and New Zealand; with flooding and cyclones earlier this year also rocking flight demand in Australia.
As a result, Qantas is reducing its capital expenditure by 400m Australian dollars and is also cancelling or deferring orders of 12 narrow body aircraft.
The company’s chief executive Alan Joyce said the Qantas Group had taken decisive action to match capacity to demand and believes it is well placed to retain its profit-maximising 65 per cent domestic market share.
Flight costs
With flight companies looking to make up for profit shortfalls, there is a risk that prices may increase, making it increasingly important to do all you can to find an affordable deal.
Use comparison websites to compare long-haul flights from several travel operators and also look out for flight promo codes at 5hop5.ie. Qantas is among the airlines regularly publishing money saving discount codes at the website.
