Qantas to revamp frequent flyer program in April, Airbus A220 interiors revealed

Despite a 13% drop in earnings compared to the same period last year, Qantas still finished the first half-financial year with a plum $1.25 billion in underlying profit before tax, later adjusted to $869 million after tax.

Lower fares and freight yields were the biggest factors to drive down revenue, but Qantas says this was mostly offset with increased flying and ‘unwinding of transition costs from the post-COVID restart’.

Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson promises that product improvements are in the pipeline for customers.

There’s a lot of work happening to lift our service levels and the early signs are really positive. Our customer satisfaction scores have bounced back strongly since December.

We understand the need for affordable air travel and fares have fallen more than 10 per cent since peaking in late 2022. At the same time, we’ve seen a cost benefit from fewer cancellations and delays, and scale benefits as more international flying returns.

We need to deliver a service that is consistently better in order to succeed long term, and that’s what we’re focussed on.

– Vanessa Hudson, Qantas Group CEO, 22 February 2024

Qantas Domestic, Loyalty are as strong as always

The usual powerhouses for Qantas – Domestic and Loyalty – continue to perform well against the backdrop of lower fares. Underlying EBIT (Earnings Before Interest and Tax) for Qantas Domestic was $641 million, representing an 18% decline. Qantas International remained profitable, with an increase in Underlying EBIT to $150 million.

Qantas Loyalty grew by 23% to reach an Underlying EBIT of $270 million, thanks to a significant expansion. There are now 15.8 million Qantas Frequent Flyer members. Qantas-branded insurance policies increased by a factor of 2.5x while more than 100,000 Qantas-branded credit cards were taken out.

The Qantas Group are still finalising the upcoming changes to its frequent flyer program, with the aim to announce the changes by April 2024.

There are lots of strong Qantas-cobranded card offers in the market.

QantasLink Airbus A220 to take wing

QantasLink has taken delivery of the first two of 29 Airbus A220s that will replace the aging Boeing 717 fleet. Flying to cities such as Hobart, Canberra, Coffs Harbour and Launceston, the A220 has double the range of the 717 and promises greater personal comfort in both classes.

The first commercial Airbus A220 routes on sale are:

• Melbourne-Canberra and Melbourne-Brisbane (from 1 March 2024)
• Melbourne-Hobart and Melbourne-Coffs Harbour (from July 2024)
• Melbourne-Launceston (from November 2024)

Point Hacks is on the media-only inaugural Airbus A220 flight from Sydney to Uluru and will report back on the experience.

International Wi-Fi, more Airbus A321XLRs coming

Qantas Domestic will welcome a further eight more Airbus A321XLRs. This brings the order total up to 28 jets, due to start arriving in early 2025. The A321XLR is 5m longer than the Boeing 737s it replaces. With 20 Business and 180 Economy seats, capacity will be up 15% without further reducing the pitch between seats.

Meanwhile, fast and free Wi-Fi is coming to international aircraft starting by the end 2024. Using satellite technology from Viasat, Qantas is planning to offer enough bandwidth for every passenger to ‘enjoy a fast and consistent connection’, including the ability to stream content.

The Qantas Airbus A330, Boeing 787 and Airbus A380 fleets are all expected to be retrofitted with Viasat connectivity.

Other planned customer improvements include a complete overhaul of Qantas.com from mid-2024, as well as the trial of automated, proactive refunds for COVID credits – with a safeguard in place if the card is already expired.

One more thing – Qantas’ much-touted Project Sunrise is now delayed to mid-2026 due to manufacturing delays. We’ll need to wait a bit longer before we can cross from Sydney to London or New York in a single leap.