Qantas Guides For Profits On Rebound In Domestic Travel

Australia’s flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. said in a statement that a boom in domestic holiday travel has given hopes to a recovery for the airline, which has been struggling like its global peers on the back of pandemic-related travel restrictions. CEO Alan Joyce said, “We have a long way still to go in this recovery, but it does feel like we’re slowly starting to turn the corner. The business is now on a more sustainable footing.” Qantas forecasts underlying earnings of A$400-450mn ($309-348mn) for the year ending June 30. However, pretax losses are expected to breach A$2bn ($1.55bn), including aircraft writedowns and staff layoff costs. The airline added that corporate travel has reached 75% of pre-pandemic levels with overall domestic capacity to be back to normal levels this quarter. That being said, the airline has pushed back the resumption of international routes to late December on the back of the government’s inclination to keep borders closed till mid-2022 and delays in Australia’s inoculation drive.

Qantas’ AUD 2.95% bonds due 2029 traded at 95.3 yielding 3.6% on the secondary markets.

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