Australia’s Qantas flags higher 2023-24 jet fuel costs

Australian airline Qantas Airways still expects to incur a record fuel bill in the 2023-24 fiscal year to 30 June, according to its half-year results.

Its fuel costs are expected to be A$5.4bn ($3.54bn) at current fuel prices, inclusive of hedging, with 2023-24 jet fuel consumption, including sustainable aviation fuel, predicted to be 81,000 b/d or 19pc higher than the 68,000 b/d recorded in 2022-23. Qantas group's fuel expenditure in 2022-23 was A$4.6bn.

New Airbus A321LR aircraft delivered to its budget subsidiary Jetstar are resulting in a 20pc improvement in fuel burn per seat, Qantas said, contributing to a 12pc unit cost improvement compared with the older A320 aircraft they will replace. The airline said this is helping it reach an interim emissions reduction target of 25pc by 2030. Qantas ordered a further eight A321XLRs for domestic flights for a total order of 28, with the first aircraft arriving in early 2025.

Qantas' domestic group capacity guidance for 2023-24 was left unchanged at 103pc of its pre-Covid-19 pandemic figure. But international capacity guidance, excluding Jetstar Asia, was revised down to 94pc from a previous 95pc. Jetstar Asia capacity will reach 42pc of the pre-Covid figure, Qantas said, up from a previous guidance of 40pc.

Qantas' July-December profit after tax was A$869mn, down from A$1bn in the previous corresponding period, while revenue of A$11.1bn was up on the 2022-23 first-half figure of A$9.9bn.

By Tom Major