Qantas posts huge loss, says no intl flights until October

SYDNEY: Australian carrier Qantas reported on Thursday a $5.5 billion plunge in revenue during the second half of 2020 and said international passenger flights would not resume until October as the pandemic continued to devastate the industry.

The country’s biggest airline said it suffered an underlying pre-tax loss of Aus$1.03 billion ($814 million) in the six months to December 31, with statutory losses climbing to Aus$1.47 billion.

“These figures are stark, but they won’t come as a surprise,” said Qantas CEO Alan Joyce.

“A year ago, none of us knew just how big an impact Covid would have on the world, or on aviation. It’s clearly worse than anyone expected,” he said.

“Border closures meant we lost virtually 100 per cent of our international flying and 70 per cent of our domestic flying — three-quarters of our revenue — around Aus$7 billion — went with it.”

Joyce noted that the company had already seen revenue fall Aus$4 billion during the first half of 2020, bringing the total impact of the pandemic to Aus$11 billion.

“That is a massive number, probably a bigger number than any other company in Australia is experiencing because of Covid,” he told a news conference.

Joyce pushed back the expected resumption of international passenger flights, but said the cost of keeping those planes on the ground was largely being offset by increased freight operations.

— AFP