Qantas cuts capacity as Hong Kong demand softens
Qantas plans to cut seat capacity on some of its Hong Kong services as anti-government protests continue to affect business travel and tourism.
Speaking during the airline’s earnings call, CEO Alan Joyce said booking volumes have dipped by about 10%.
It plans to downgrade aircraft on Hong Kong routes.
"As you know, we have A330-300s flying the routes. Our intention is to downgrade them, the same product, the same service, to A330-200s, that will take around 7% of capacity out of Hong Kong and we will take that out in the next few months," he said.
The larger A330-300s will be shifted to other Asian routes which have seen strong growth.
These include Singapore and Manila.
"We’ll closely monitor Hong Kong but our experience of these geopolitical events occurring in other places, there is a fast rebound after the issue calms down," Joyce said.
Qantas flies daily to Hong Kong from Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
Cathay Pacific Airways also warned of a ‘significant impact’ on its bottom line due to the protests, with August revenue hit hardest so far.
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