Qantas to Resume International Flights from December

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Qantas Airways Ltd announced on Thursday that it was preparing for international travel with countries with high vaccine rates to begin resuming in December, sending shares higher, as it reported a narrower annual loss of A$1.73 billion ($1.26 billion).

Opening Travels, Reducing Losses

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 from mid-2022 to fly to the United States and Britain, a year earlier than previously forecast. This is a result of the marginal improvement in the pandemic situation.

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 and could be delayed. Shares rose as much as 3.7% to the highest levels since April.

The Bigger Picture

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.

Pending government decisions, Qantas said it expected flights to countries with high vaccine rates like Singapore, Japan, the United States, Britain, and hopefully New Zealand to resume from mid-December. Flights to places with lower vaccination rates like Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and South Africa would restart from April 2022 at the earliest, it added.

“One of the biggest unknowns is the quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering Australia,” Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce said. “If its 14 days in a hotel, demand levels will be very low. A shorter period with additional testing and the option to isolate at home will see a lot more people travel.” Given the possibility of such future developments, the mid-2022 date for a full resumption of international travels seems quite well-placed and optimistic for the airlines.