Qantas cuts capacity in response to downturn in demand

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 to Shanghai (the airline’s sole route to mainland China) will remain suspended;
• Sydney to Hong Kong has been reduced from 14 return flights per week to seven;
• Brisbane to Hong Kong has been reduced from seven return flights per week to four;
• Melbourne to Hong Kong has been reduced from seven return flights per week to five;
• Melbourne to Singapore flights will be operated by Boeing 787s instead of larger Airbus 380s, which will mean approximately 250 less seats per flight;
• Qantas will reduce flights across the Tasman by six per cent, with cancellations on the Sydney- Auckland, Melbourne-Auckland and Brisbane-Christchurch routes. Jetstar will reduce its Tasman flying by five per cent.
• Jetstar 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- and 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.

Qantas and Jetstar Domestic will reduce total domestic capacity by 2.3 per cent for the second half of the financial year to better match demand.

Qantas Group said demand for regional services is largely stable, meaning that recently announced routes will start as planned, including Sydney-Ballina (Byron Bay), Sydney-Mildura, Tamworth-Brisbane, and Sydney-Orange, as well as additional flights from Adelaide to Kangaroo Island and from Sydney to Bendigo. Jetstar’s new Melbourne-Busselton (Margaret River) flights are also unaffected.

Furthermore, Jetstar is looking at transferring an A320 aircraft from Jetstar to QantasLink to meet increased demand from the resources sector in Western Australia.