As school holidays approach, Qantas and Jetstar are gearing up for a busy travel season. With additional capacity and new routes, the airlines are poised to meet the travel demands of millions of passengers.
The Group anticipates carrying over 4 million travellers during the school holiday period, with top domestic leisure destinations including the Gold Coast and Cairns.
Moreover, the introduction of new international routes such as Sydney-Auckland-New York and Perth-Rome has resulted in heavy bookings.
Qantas and Jetstar remain confident in their ability to deliver the financial performance outlined for FY23 in their May market update.
In their unwavering commitment to enhancing customer experiences, the Group has made significant developments across various aspects of their operations, which are outlined below.
Fleet Expansion and Advancements
The Group has recently taken delivery of six new aircraft since the beginning of 2023. Jetstar, in particular, has received its eighth Airbus A321neo LR, with plans to acquire a ninth in July.
This is part of their strategic goal to have a total of 18 aircraft of this model delivered by the end of next year.
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These new aircraft are not only more fuel-efficient, consuming up to 20 percent less fuel, but they are also significantly quieter, reducing noise pollution by up to 50 percent compared to previous generation aircraft.
Qantas, on the other hand, has received two new Boeing 787 Dreamliners since late April, further enhancing their fleet. They expect a third Dreamliner, bringing the total count to 14, to arrive in mid-July, despite some delivery delays experienced at Boeing.
In addition, Qantas’ eighth A380 is scheduled to re-enter service in early July following meticulous engineering checks and cabin refurbishment.
Furthermore, as part of their fleet optimization strategy, three QantasLink 717s have been retired, representing 15 percent of this particular fleet type, in anticipation of the arrival of new Airbus A220s later this year.
Expanding the Network
The Qantas Group is committed to restoring international capacity to pre-COVID levels, and progress is being made in that direction.
Over the past six weeks, Qantas and Jetstar have announced or resumed several routes, signalling a positive trend in the international network recovery. These routes include Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York, San Francisco, Rome, Honiara, and Wellington.
On the domestic front, the Qantas Group has successfully restored its capacity to pre-COVID levels, offering a wide range of travel options within Australia.
As part of their ongoing efforts to meet customer demand, Qantas will be increasing domestic services from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island and Whyalla in South Australia.
Jetstar, too, is boosting capacity on its Adelaide to Denpasar route, stationing two of its new A321neo LRs in Adelaide. Additionally, the airline plans to increase frequency on several routes, including Brisbane to Auckland and Brisbane to Denpasar.
