LONDON – Qantas say their customers enjoyed more on-time flights and fewer cancellations in October, as the national carrier’s domestic performance continued to lift.

After hitting a low point in July as sick leave surged, the national carrier’s operations have improved every month to be around, or better, than pre-COVID levels.

Qantas October performance

Data on domestic flying for the month of October shows:

• Flight cancellations dropped further, down to 2.2 per cent, and are now below pre-COVID levels.
• Mishandled bags remained steady at 6 in 1000 passengers, almost back to pre-COVID levels. This has been achieved as the number of bags being checked-in per customer has risen 15 per cent this year compared with pre-COVID rates, as leisure travel has surged.
• On time performance continues to improve, with 74 per cent of flights departing on time, up from 69 per cent in September. Extreme weather, including floods in NSW and Victoria, affected punctuality by 3 percentage points in the month, while air traffic control constraints also had an impact.
• Qantas outperformed our main domestic competitor for the eighth month out of the past 12.

Qantas continues to invest in a buffer against the challenges that impacted reliability earlier in the year, including unexpected sick leave spikes and supply chain delays. The Group is investing $200 million to roster additional crew, train new recruits and keep 20 additional aircraft on standby that can be called upon to reduce delays and cancellations.

Qantas aims to keep on time performance in the mid-70s for the remainder of the calendar year, factoring in the forecast for more extreme weather events in some parts of the country. This aligns with the circa 75 per cent on-time performance recorded by the national carrier in November and December 2019.

Performance comparisons

Sale of interest in Helloworld

The October performance news comes as Qantas has agreed to sell its 12.4 per cent shareholding in Helloworld Travel Limited for approximately $33 million, as it continues to sharpen its focus on post-COVID recovery.

The national carrier has held a stake in the travel agency network since 2008, when it was spun off from a merger of Qantas Holidays and Jetset Travel. Qantas’ shareholding in Helloworld has steadily reduced over that time through various transactions and as Helloworld’s own structure has evolved.

The share sale was at a price of $1.72 per share. The transaction will be recognised in Qantas’ FY23 accounts.

Commenting on the divestment of Helloworld shareholding, Qantas Group Chief Financial Officer, Vanessa Hudson, said: “Our stake in Helloworld has reduced over several years and now is the right time for us to exit as shareholders.

“We’ve announced some major investments this year as we focus on what is core to the Group going forward, including fleet renewal, growing our network and a successful expansion into the e-commerce holiday booking space with TripADeal.

“We’ll continue to have a very strong relationship with Helloworld as a trade partner, and travel agencies in general remain an important pillar of how millions of trips are booked every year,” Ms Hudson added.

The divestment of Helloworld also follows Qantas’ sale of almost 14 hectares of industrial land near its Mascot headquarters in Sydney for $802 million in late 2021.