Qantas Seeks To Resume Int'l Flights To Cut Down On Losses

Qantas Airways said it was preparing for international travel with countries with high vaccine rates to resume in December as it reported a slightly narrower annual loss of A$1.73 billion ($1.26 billion), Jamie Freed reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: The bounceback of Qantas, as is the case with most businesses in Australia, is hinged heavily on the vaccination rollout.

The airline, which grounded its international fleet in March 2020 due to closed borders, said it planned to bring back five of its 12 Airbus SE A380 super-jumbos by mid-2022 to fly to the United States and Britain, a year earlier than previously forecast.

It is a hopeful sign for travel in the Asia-Pacific region, where borders are largely closed and international travel is 95% below pre-COVID levels, though the Qantas plan is dependent on government decisions.

Australia set a target last month for 80% of adults to be fully vaccinated for a calibrated reopening of its international borders.

At present, more than half the population is locked down due to COVID-19 outbreaks, and just over 30% are fully vaccinated, though forecasts say the country could reach 80% by the end of the year as more doses of imported vaccines arrive.

"When Australia reaches those critical vaccination targets later this year and the likelihood of future lockdowns and border closures reduces, we expect to see a surge in domestic travel demand and a gradual return of international travel," Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said.

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