There had previously been a hope that Australians could start travelling overseas once they were immunised, armed with a "vaccine passport". But Joyce agreed this week with leading epidemiologists who say the fact vaccinated travellers might still catch COVID and bring it home and spark a new outbreak means Australia needs to achieve herd immunity before international travel can resume safely. With Australia's vaccine rollout not set to finish until October, Joyce acknowledged that its July start date for international flights could change but said it was "still our hope".
Qantas has parked all 12 of its Airbus A superjumbos in the Californian desert until , which is how long it thinks it will take for international demand to recover to levels. Even when quarantine-free travel between countries is possible, international travel will be severely challenged in Pendal's Bensan says Qantas opening up international ticket sales, which are typically booked six months in advance, will help reverse the flow of working capital that gushed out of its coffers when it was hit by an avalanche of refund requests early in the pandemic.
This was a more important measure than profitability for the next two years, as it was key to it repairing its balance sheet. Qantas' will also be contending with a very different domestic market than before the pandemic.
Virgin has stripped its domestic fleet back from around 80 jets to just 56 Boeing s after it collapsed into administration in April as the pandemic hit, and has repositioned itself in the middle of the market. This may allow Qantas to become even more dominant in the lucrative corporate travel sector. But Virgin says it is now a serious player in that market after an extensive restructure under the leadership of former Jetstar boss Jayne Hrdlicka and with the deep-pocketed backing of Bain Capital.
Meanwhile, country airline Regional Express' bold move to launch jet services between Sydney and Melbourne in March, to be followed by other capital cities, is predicted to trigger a new airfare war between the three groups. Joyce this week predicted only two of the three airlines would remain standing in the long term — and Qantas would be one of them. But some company watchers believe Rex's entry and a revived and restructured Virgin will cause serious headaches for Qantas.
Credit Suisse analyst Paul Butler thinks Bain will do a better job at running the perpetually loss making Virgin and will be able to take a bigger share of the domestic profit pool, while Rex's entry will chip away at Qantas' market share. With Qantas' balance sheet in its worst condition in five years and international travel being grounded for at least another six months, it was "perplexing" why Qantas' average annual market cap remained at an all-time high, Butler told clients in a note last month.
Beyond the initial rush, the ongoing demand for international flights will hinge largely on what the quarantine requirements are. Following the news of the resumption of its international operations, Qantas also announced it will be extending its commercial partnership with Emirates EK, Dubai Int'l for another five years.
The airlines have existing approval until March , but will seek re-authorisation from relevant regulators, including the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, to continue their coordination of pricing, schedules, sales, and tourism marketing on approved routes until The deal includes an option to renew for another five years beyond that.
Qantas is one of 22 airlines that used to provide intercontinental services out of Sydney before the pandemic, and actually held merely 1.
Singapore Airlines , which held a Fellow Singaporean carrier Scoot made no announcement about restarting flights Down Under. Australian borders will have been closed for almost two years during which only a limited number of people have been granted a permit to leave the country for critical business or humanitarian reasons. Citizens and permanent residents were allowed to return from abroad, subject to quota limits and a mandatory day quarantine period in a hotel at their own expense.
Mr Albanese says he is disappointed by Qantas' decision "made on a Saturday morning with notice to the Government mid-afternoon, one day after an annual general meeting. Mr Albanese says the Government played a role in facilitating discussions between Qantas and the employees, but at no stage has there been a request for government intervention. He says the Government will be making an application to Fair Work Australia over the dispute. The TWU has slammed Qantas' decision to ground its entire fleet and lockout its staff as "reckless, unwarranted and disgraceful".
The aircraft engineers union says it is not surprised Qantas would take such extreme action as grounding its fleet and locking out workers. Mr Joyce said he was sorry the course of action had become necessary but the ball was now in the unions' court. The airline said at 5pm AEDT on Saturday there were 64 aircraft in the air, 36 domestic and 28 international carrying more than 7, passengers. The airline will offer hotel accommodation and alternative flights to those who are mid-journey and cannot get home when the grounding takes effect.
And there will be refunds and ticket transfers available to passengers whose flights are cancelled. Qantas will keep passengers updated on the situation via its website, Facebook page and Twitter. The airline says 13, passengers are booked to travel on Qantas planes from overseas ports to Australia in the next 24 hours. About 1, international passengers may be at international airports now waiting for their flight to depart.
Qantas passengers at airports around the world are scrambling to find accommodation or flights with other airlines.
I'm at a loss," one traveller said. The head of its domestic business, Andrew David, will also take over the responsibilities of La Spina. CEO Alan Joyce said it had become increasingly clear that the airline's international flights would be grounded until at least mid and it would take years for flying to return to historical levels. In this article.
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