Company Reports

Since the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry, Qantas has rebounded stronger than ever. The domestic business, of which Qantas typically captures around a two thirds market share, returned to pre-covid-19 levels by the end of fiscal 2023.

Qantas' fiscal 2026 underlying pretax profit was AUD 2.1 billion, down 14% on last year despite 7% revenue growth. Fuel costs have surged too quickly for higher ticket prices to meaningfully offset, and Qantas' Brent crude hedges were insufficient amid spiking refining margins.

Since the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry, Qantas has rebounded stronger than ever. The domestic business, of which Qantas typically captures around a two thirds market share, returned to pre-covid-19 levels by the end of fiscal 2023.

Qantas said jet fuel prices have more than doubled since its first-half results because of the Iran war. Second-half fiscal 2026 fuel costs are now expected to be AUD 3.1 billion-AUD 3.3 billion, which the airline is partially offsetting by increasing airfares and flying fuller planes.

The global average jet fuel price for the week ending March 13, 2026, was about USD 175 per barrel, per the IATA-Platts Jet Fuel Price Index. This was 76% higher than two weeks prior, before the Iran war began. Brent crude is now well over USD 100 per barrel, up roughly 50% since February.

Since the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry, Qantas has rebounded stronger than ever. The domestic business, of which Qantas typically captures around a two thirds market share, returned to pre-covid-19 levels by the end of fiscal 2023.

Qantas' interim 2026 underlying pretax profit rose 5% to AUD 1.5 billion. Domestic earnings improved, but profits from Qantas' international business fell. Budget brand Jetstar and Qantas Loyalty both delivered 12% increases in underlying profit. Shares fell 8% on results day.

Since the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry, Qantas has rebounded stronger than ever. The domestic business, of which Qantas typically captures around a two thirds market share, returned to pre-covid-19 levels by the end of fiscal 2023.

Qantas provided a trading update at its annual general meeting. While the airline continues to expect international capacity growth in fiscal 2026 of about 4%, it now expects domestic growth of about 5%, from 6% previously.

Qantas' fiscal 2025 underlying pretax profit was AUD 2.4 billion, up 15% on last year. Budget brand, Jetstar, is performing particularly well, with segment earnings up 55%. Qantas international earnings lifted 7% while domestic earnings were down about 1%.

Since the covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry, Qantas has rebounded stronger than ever. The domestic business, of which Qantas typically captures around a two thirds market share, returned to pre-covid-19 levels by the end of fiscal 2023.

The covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry. Lockdowns, border restrictions, and social distancing measures have clipped Qantas' wings. Stringent Australian entry requirements for international arrivals and an effective ban on noncitizen, nonpermanent resident arrivals decimated passenger revenue, and despite aggressive cost-cutting, operating deleverage led to significant aftertax losses in 2021 and 2022.

Qantas is winding up its Singapore-based intra-Asia airline, Jetstar Asia, with a final day of operation on July 31, 2025. Qantas expects the budget brand to post an underlying EBIT loss of AUD 35 million in fiscal 2025. Redundancy and restructuring costs are expected to be about AUD 175 million.

Qantas reported interim 2025 underlying pretax profit of AUD 1.4 billion, 11% higher than last year. Profits grew domestically and internationally across both its brands. Budget brand Jetstar was the standout, lifting underlying segment profit 35%, while loyalty earnings declined.

The covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry. Lockdowns, border restrictions, and social distancing measures have clipped Qantas' wings. Stringent Australian entry requirements for international arrivals and an effective ban on noncitizen, nonpermanent resident arrivals decimated passenger revenue, and despite aggressive cost-cutting, operating deleverage led to significant aftertax losses in 2021 and 2022.

Qantas provided a first-half fiscal 2025 trading update. The airline now expects domestic pricing to increase by about 4%, higher than its prior forecast for an increase of about 2%. It also lowered its expected first-half fuel bill by AUD 150 million, to about AUD 2.6 billion.

Air travel conditions have normalized. Pent-up demand has exhausted, previously constrained industry capacity has eased, and price competition has returned. Qantas’ underlying profit before tax declined 16% to AUD 2.1 billion—about 3% above our forecast. We maintain our AUD 6.10 fair value estimate, and at current prices, shares in Qantas screen as slightly overvalued.

The covid-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on the global airline industry. Lockdowns, border restrictions, and social distancing measures have clipped Qantas' wings. Stringent Australian entry requirements for international arrivals and an effective ban on noncitizen, nonpermanent resident arrivals decimated passenger revenue, and despite aggressive cost-cutting, operating deleverage led to significant aftertax losses in 2021 and 2022.

Qantas settled its case with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission. The case centered predominantly around advertising and selling tickets for flights intended to be canceled. The airline will pay a penalty of AUD 100 million in addition to AUD 20 million in compensation to consumers. The combined AUD 120 million bill looks like a win for Qantas—we had expected total penalties of about AUD 250 million. However, the difference is immaterial to our unchanged AUD 6.10 valuation. At current prices, shares in Qantas screen broadly fairly valued.

The long-awaited revamp to the Qantas Frequent Flyer loyalty program has been unveiled. In short, in the hope of retaining more customers over the longer term, loyalty now offers more value to consumers. A major bugbear for Qantas frequent flyers is the lack of seats available to book with points, and the poor value points offered on alternative fares. The revamp effectively allows customers to redeem points at a largely higher value on a broader range of flights.