After the turmoil of the Covid
pandemic, Qantas says it is back on track and “getting back to its best”.
Chief executive Alan
Joyce, announcing the airline group’s full-year 2022 results, said, “The fact
we’ve been able to steer through this is remarkable. And now that we are
through it, things are improving even faster than we expected.
“People are not just
flying again – they’ve brought a level of enthusiasm for travel that was beyond
our best projections.”
Joyce revealed that
revenue intakes for leisure travel were around 125% of pre-Covid levels.
“For business travel, it’s
90% – and that’s despite the fact many people are still working from home
during the current Covid and flu spike.
“Forward bookings are
extremely strong across our airlines and consumer research shows that travel is
one category people want to keep spending on, even as inflation and interest
rates see them pull back elsewhere.”
Joyce said the pandemic
had tested everyone – and aviation had been “sorely tested”.
The Qantas group had an
underlying loss before tax of almost A$1.9 billion (US$1.3bn) bringing total losses since the start of the
pandemic to more than A$7 billion and taking lost revenue to more than A$25
billion.
“To put that in
perspective, on a statutory basis, Covid cost us more money in the past three
years than we made in the five years before that,” Joyce said.
Qantas last week issued an
apology to its frequent flyers for recent flight cancellations, lost baggage
and service delays, offering them compensation in the way of flight credits and
lounge access.
“We’re the first to admit
we haven’t gotten everything right lately. But – with the help of our people –
we are getting back to our best. And – given what we have in the pipeline – it
will get even better from there,” Joyce said.