As a result of significant falls in travel demand due to Coronavirus, and new government restrictions across multiple jurisdictions in recent days, Qantas and Jetstar will make further and much larger cuts to domestic and international flying schedules.
To be phased in from the end of March 2020 onwards:
- Total Group International capacity will be cut by around 90 per cent until at least the end of May 2020. This is up from a 23 per cent reduction for the fourth quarter of FY20 announced last week and largely reflects the demand impact of severe quarantine requirements on people’s ability to travel overseas.
- Total Group Domestic capacity will be cut by around 60 per cent until at least the end of May 2020. This is a major increase from the 5 per cent reduction for the fourth quarter of FY20 and reflects a rapid decline in forward travel demand due to government containment measures, corporate travel bans and a general pullback from everyday activities across the community.
- This represents the grounding of around 150 aircraft, including almost all of the Group’s wide-body fleet.
- Previously announced cuts in place from end-May through to mid-September remain in place and are likely to be increased, depending on demand.
The route-by-route detail of these changes across Qantas and Jetstar is currently being worked through and will be announced in coming days.
Despite the deep cuts, the national carrier’s critical role in transporting people and goods on key international, domestic, routes will be maintained. This includes using some domestic passenger aircraft for freight-only flights to replace lost capacity from regular scheduled services. Qantas’ fleet of freighters will continue to be fully utilised.
