Domestic airfares are set to rise as Qantas trims capacity which will increase demand on fewer flights in July and August.
Qantas says “fuel prices have kept rising over the past month and require the Group to rebalance capacity and fares in response.”
Airlines have multiple fares levels on each flight from sale fares to last-minute business class and the greater number of passengers on each flight (load factor) the higher the fares as all the cheaper seats are snapped up.
The airline said cuts to domestic flying levels for July and August are being deepened with capacity moving from 107 per cent of pre-COVID levels to 103 per cent.
These reductions will progressively flow into booking and reservation systems in the coming days.
Qantas said it will continue to monitor market conditions and adjust capacity as needed.
Qantas added in a statement that “these adjustments are not expected to materially impact customers due to a large number of flights on most routes; those impacted will be contacted directly and offered different options. In practical terms, these changes will generally lead to a higher seat factor on flights across the Group.”
On the international front, the airline said it “continues to see strong demand, particularly as we move towards the northern summer peak and more countries relax restrictions.”
Group International capacity remains unchanged at just under 50 per cent of pre-COVID levels by the end of the fourth quarter of FY22 and rising to around 70 per cent by the end of the first quarter of FY23.
Qantas said it will bring a third A380 back from storage, which will return to service from June 6 on the Melbourne-Los Angeles route.
Following the recent relaxation of New Zealand border restrictions, Qantas and Jetstar’s Tasman flying has ramped up significantly, including:
- Flights resumed from Australia to Queenstown and Wellington, and additional routes to Christchurch.
- Qantas has doubled the frequency on flights to Auckland from Melbourne and Sydney and is operating some flights from Brisbane with A330s.
- Jetstar has restarted flights on all Australia to Auckland markets and will restart on the remaining Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington markets in the next few weeks.
As Japan starts to relax its borders restrictions:
- Jetstar will resume flights from Cairns-Tokyo (Narita) from July 20 and Cairns-Osaka from July 26.
- Qantas will resume Sydney-Tokyo (Haneda) services from September 12, and from Melbourne and Brisbane to Tokyo (Haneda) from the end of October, using A330s.
Strengthening demand for travel to Bali has seen Jetstar restart direct services from all seven Australian cities it flew from pre-COVID and will be close to pre-COVID levels of capacity on the majority of routes by the end of June 2022.
Also, the airline advised;
- Qantas will increase frequency between Sydney and Manila from five flights per week to six from 20 June increasing to daily from mid-September.
- Qantas will resume flights from Sydney to Santiago from 30 October, with four flights per week using its 787s.
- Qantas has pushed back the restart of flights between Sydney and San Francisco from 30 July to 30 October. Customers will be re-accommodated on flights via Los Angeles.
As previously announced, the Qantas Group will start the following routes in the coming months:
- Qantas will start a seasonal Perth-Rome service from June 22.
- Qantas will start flights from Sydney to Bengaluru (Bangalore) from 14 September.
- Jetstar will start a Sydney-Seoul service from November 2 and Qantas will start on the route on 10 December.
- Qantas will start flights from Melbourne to Dallas Fort Worth from December 2.
