Qantas feels the pinch.
Australian airline Qantas has pointed the finger of blame at London and Los Angeles for its drop in annual profits.
Profits for the airline are down by 88 percent from last year and the London and LA routes, once the major profit makers for Qantas, are now running at a loss.
Chief Executive Alan Joyce told the ABC: “Basically, those routes are the biggest issue,�
Competition has also played its part, with Virgin’s V-Australia and the US airline Delta, now running competitive flights from Los Angeles to Australia.
However Mr Joyce is optimistic that once the financial market stabilises, the routes will return to profit making.
Qantas isn’t the only airline to suffer from a case of the ‘profit blues’. Virgin Blue announced a loss of $101 million for the first part of this year. They blamed start up costs of the V Australia route from LA to Australia and rising fuel costs.
In the meantime, passengers stand to benefit as airlines battle it out to win ‘bums on seats’. Only last month Qantas teamed up with Virgin to offer 150 specially discounted ‘Ten Pound Pom’ tickets. Also, following the Ashes second test match results, both Qantas and BA offered 425 flight to Oz for just £215.
The average price of a ticket from Heathrow, London to Australia in March was £1120 in 2008. In 2009 that price came down to just £978. The cheapest flight was in June with Emirates flying from London for just £759.
Therefore, with prices this low and so many special offers being introduced, now really is the time to book that trip of a lifetime to Australia!ÂÂ
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