The Qantas Group has today announced temporary reductions to flights across Asia in response to a drop in demand due to Coronavirus.
The actions were announced as part of the Group’s Half Year Financial Results, where the net profit impact of Coronavirus was estimated at between $100 million to $150 million for FY20 – a figure softened by lower fuel prices.
Reductions of around 5 per cent will be made to Qantas and Jetstar’s flying between Australia and New Zealand.
There is no change to other key parts of the Qantas International network, such as the US and UK, which remain unaffected.
Reductions of around 2 per cent of total Group domestic Australian flying in the second half are being made to reflect market demand.
Customers with existing bookings who are impacted by the reductions will be contacted directly and offered alternatives. For most domestic bookings, this will involve slight changes to their departure or arrival times. For international bookings, customers can move flights to another date or connect through another Australian city.
Below is a summary of the network changes.
QANTAS INTERNATIONAL
Qantas International will cut 16 per cent of Asia capacity until at least the end of May, impacting flights from Australia to mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
- Sydney-Shanghai (the airline’s sole route to mainland China) – will remain suspended
- Sydney-Hong Kong – reduced from 14 return flights per week to 7
- Brisbane-Hong Kong – reduced from 7 return flights per week to 4
- Melbourne-Hong Kong – reduced from 7 return flights per week to 5
- Melbourne-Singapore – flights to be operated by Boeing 787s instead of larger Airbus 380s (approx. 250 less seats per flight)
Qantas will reduce flights across the Tasman by 6 per cent with cancellations on Sydney-Auckland, Melbourne-Auckland and Brisbane-Christchurch. Jetstar will reduce its Tasman flying by 5 per cent.
JETSTAR GROUP
Jetstar Group will cut its capacity to Asia by 14 per cent until at least the end of May, impacting flights from Australia to Japan and Thailand, and intra-Asia flights.
- Cairns-Tokyo (Narita), Cairns-Osaka, Gold Coast-Tokyo (Narita) and Melbourne & Sydney-Phuket will each be reduced by up to two return flights per week.
- Each of the Jetstar airlines in Asia – Jetstar Asia (Singapore), Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Pacific (Vietnam) – have suspended flights to mainland China and are reducing flights across the region. In particular, Jetstar Asia is reducing total seats by 15 per cent.
- The Group is looking at transferring an A320 aircraft from Jetstar to QantasLink to meet increased demand from the resources sector in Western Australia.
