Qantas is planning to restart flights to the UK in mid-December, as part of a resumption of selected international services.
Chief executive Alan Joyce revealed the new plans as the Qantas Group posted a ‘substantial’ full-year loss before tax of AU$2.35 billion (£1.2 billion) as a result of the Covid crisis.
He also said the group is making it a requirement for all employees to be vaccinated – “something about 80% have already taken it upon themselves to do”.
Furthermore, the group is also “investing heavily to recognise customers who get the jab”, by offering frequent flyer points, status credits and flight discounts, he added.
“Getting more people vaccinated is critical to Australia opening up and getting our planes and people back in the air,” he said.
“The current pace of the vaccine rollout means all Australian states are on track to reach the 80% target by December – which is the trigger for starting to carefully open to some parts of the world.”
Pending final decisions by government in the months ahead, he expects flights to countries with high vaccine rates to resume from mid-December 2021 onwards – that includes the UK, Singapore, Japan, the US, and “hopefully” New Zealand, he said.
Flights to places with lower vaccination rates will restart from April 2022 at the earliest – such as Bali, Jakarta, Manila and Johannesburg.
He said “one of the biggest unknowns” is the quarantine requirements for fully vaccinated travellers entering Australia.
“If it’s 14 days in a hotel, demand levels will be very low. A shorter period with additional testing and the option to isolate at home will see a lot more people travel,” said Joyce.
The airline will bring five A380s back into service a year ahead of schedule – from mid-2022 onwards – to fly to the UK and US.
The results statement said the group has started FY22 in a “fundamentally better position to deal with uncertainty and manage its recovery compared with 12 months ago”.
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