The national carrier continues to record strong financial performances.
Qantas has today announced an underlying profit before tax of $1.46 billion, a $71 million increase compared to the corresponding period in 2025.
The result led Qantas to announce that, “along with the investment we are making in our customers and people, we are also increasing returns to shareholders”.
“The board has approved a $300 million fully franked base dividend, an increase of $50 million, along with a share buy-back.”
In domestic, Qantas and Jetstar recorded “sustained growth” which helped the company’s domestic division deliver $1.05 billion in underlying EBIT, up 14%.
Qantas Group suggested there was “strong demand” for international travel that saw underlying EBIT for H1 FY26 (excluding Jetstar Asia and Jetstar Japan) although that was down 6% to $463 million.
It attributed the decline to cost escalation in Qantas International including elevated engineering and industry costs, higher wages across some operational work groups and the commencement of training for new aircraft.
Qantas Loyalty recorded underlying EBIT of $286 million, up 12% on the previous corresponding period, driven by what Qantas Group called “the strength of the Frequent Flyer program through member engagement and a growing list of partners, as well as continued revenue growth from Qantas Business Rewards, Hotels and Holidays, and TripADeal”.
Meanwhile, the group announced it would “launch the first direct flight between Sydney and Las Vegas” from 29 December on a Boeing 787.
The new seasonal service will run through to Mar 2027 and will save customers up to five hours in travel time by eliminating the need for connections through another American city.
More details in today’s issue of Travel Daily.