Sunday, August 23, 2009

LA and London routes hurt Qantas

       Australian flag-carrier Qantas yesterday blamed flagging demand on its key London and Los Angeles routes for an 88-per-cent drop in annual net profit.
       Chief executive Alan Joyce said the two routes,, once the airline's main profit generators, were operating at aloss due to increased competition and the impact of the global financial crisis.
       Joyce said that while the airline's domestic operations were still protitaable, the LA and London routes had dragged its international business into the red.
       "Basically, those routes are the biggest issue," he told public broadcaster ABC.
       "Those two big routes are very dependent on premium traffci. Premium traffic dropped by between 20 and 30 per cent for us."
       Qantas last week announced net profit fell to 117 million dollars Australian dollars (Bt3.4 billion) in the 12 months to June, down from A4969 million.
       Competition in the Australia-Los Angeles route has ramped up this years with US giant Delta and Virgin's V-Australia taking on existing players Qantas and United Airlines.

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