Domestic capacity now expected to be at 70% of pre-COVID levels, down from the 102% that had been planned.
Qantas and Jetstar have just announced wide-ranging schedule changes and reductions in aircraft sizes for the coming months, to “better match travel demand in light of the sudden growth in COVID-19 cases”.
In the domestic market capacity will be at about 70% of pre-COVID levels, while total international capacity will fall from 30% to around 20% of levels before the pandemic. The company said the international reductions were mostly driven by increased travel restrictions in countries such as Japan, Thailand and Indonesia, while other markets such as London, Los Angeles, Vancouver, Johannesburg and India continue to perform well.
The airline said customers would be contacted directly from later this month by Qantas or their travel agent if their booking is impacted by cancellations. In most cases there is likely to be a departure time difference of a few hours on domestic routes, a statement added.
‘The sudden uptick in COVID cases is having an obvious impact on consumer behaviour across various sectors, including travel, but we know it’s temporary,” said CEO Alan Joyce.
He said the carrier had the flexibility to add capacity back if demand improves earlier than expected.
More details in tomorow’s issue of Travel Daily.