Melbourne terminal sale, Qantas revenue up and performing well to offset high fuel costs.
Qantas has just issued a third quarter trading update, detailing a 2.3% increase in total revenue between 01 January and 31 March 2019 to $4.4 billion.
The strong performance came despite a shift in the timing of Easter, which meant a significant amount of sales shifted into the fourth quarter “with a favourable alignment between public holidays and school holidays driving very strong leisure demand”.
Qantas has reached an agreement with Melbourne Airport for the sale of the airline’s domestic terminal for $355 million, including a 10 year exclusive access agreement for MEL Terminal 1. “Options to operate some international flights from Terminal 1 outside of peak domestic times will be assessed,” the update noted.
CEO Alan Joyce said there was increased softness in parts of the domestic corporate market for May and June, saying “we’ll have a better sense of how temporary this is after the Federal Election, which always has a dampening impact on travel demand”.
He said the Qantas Group remained on track to “fully offset the impact of significantly higher fuel costs compared with last year,” with the period also showing a strong performance by Qantas International as competitors reduced capacity on long haul routes.
“Overall we expect the Group to achieve a record level of revenue this financial year and strong cash flow as we continue to deliver for shareholders, customers and our people,” he said.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.