Dazzling Qantas may yet lose its shine
A Sydney Morning Herald report says that while a traffic best is hard to doubt, airlines are feeling stormy weather, with Qantas putting out another set of dazzling monthly traffic figures yesterday, showing little sign of the slowdown other international carriers are feeling.
The airline reported its strongest international passenger load factors since its sharemarket listing in 1995, filling 87.4per cent of its seats in February.
Jetstar International also reported an impressive 81.5per cent load factor. Not bad, given the hit the airline is taking on its long-haul routes into Japan with the high Australian dollar.
But there are fears Qantas and Jetstar may just now be seeing a dip in their forward bookings.
Jetstar’s super cheap Japan ticket sale this week has prompted speculation the discount carrier is already seeing a drop-off in forward bookings.
Jetstar may argue the sale is to celebrate the first anniversary of its maiden flight to Osaka.
But why sell cheap tickets for the March 25 anniversary for travel between August 18 and September 30?
Qantas is far from immune from a global slowdown, especially given it makes a large portion of its profits from flying business-class passengers to Britain and the US – two countries that are already seeing a sharp dip in economic activity.
Qantas shares gained 1c to close at $3.97 yesterday.
A Report by the Mole from The Sydney Morning Herald
John Alwyn-Jones
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