The Qantas Group announced on Tuesday that they will be slashing international capacity by 90 percent and Group domestic capacity by around 60 percent from the end of March to the end of May 2020. This is up from the 23 percent capacity reduction announced last week.
As demand collapses, the Qantas group announced on Tuesday that they will further cut capacity from around 23% for the fourth quarter of FY20 to 90 percent on international routes and total Group capacity by 60 percent domestically. The cuts will be phased in from the end of March and are expected to stay in place until the end of May 2020. The capacity reductions announced today represent the grounding of around 150 aircraft, including most of the Group’s widebody fleet. Previously announced May-September cuts will remain in place and may be expanded based on demand. The Qantas Group will maintain critical passenger and freight capacity across their network, including the utilization of domestic passenger aircraft in a freight-only capacity.
Qantas is taking measures to manage the impact to their 30,000 team members by offering paid and unpaid leave and other previously announced measures including the Group’s CEO and Chairman forgoing salary for three months, substantial pay cuts for Group Executive Management and Board Members and cancellation of annual bonuses. The Group has also suspended off-market share buybacks to preserve liquidity.
Source: Qantas Group
Editor's Note: We stand by the entire Qantas Group team and all airlines during this difficult period as the entire world fights to limit the transmission of, and ultimately recover from, the global COVID-19 pandemic. Once it has been defeated, we look forward to the emergence of an even stronger and more robust global commercial airline industry.