Qantas today reported a Statutory Profit After Tax of $1.25 billion, down 28% on the prior year due largely to major investments in new aircraft and customer-facing initiatives.
The company’s full-year books for the 2024 financial year showed a fall in operating margin to 10.4%, with earnings affected by declining airfare prices due to an influx of market capacity.
Operating margin is lower than the prior year, down to 10.4% as margins are squeezed to ensure Qantas remains competitive against a slew of international heavyweight rivals.
“This result shows the underlying strength of the Group’s integrated portfolio,” said Qantas CEO, Vanessa Hudson.
“Qantas benefited from increased corporate and resources travel and ongoing high demand for international premium seats, while Jetstar delivered its highest result as it grew to meet increased demand from price-sensitive leisure travellers and saw the benefits from its new aircraft.”
Qantas is more than halfway through a list of more than 200 customer-focused initiatives aimed at rebuilding trust and favour among disgruntled customers.
After a disastrous few years following the pandemic, with one scandal following another, Qantas has set itself on a path to regain the public’s trust, with improvements made to its overall flying experience, the booking process and the loyalty of its most rusted-on flyers.
The past year has seen 120 initiatives completed at a cost of $230 million, with around 100 more initiatives to come over the next 12 months.
These include upgrade to food and beverage, upgrades to its mobile app including bag tracking and passport scanning, 200 more heads in the customer call centre and more than 20 million new domestic and international reward seats.
A new boarding process which began earlier this year, which follows a similar format to the US with travellers boarding in groups, has led to an uptick in on-time performance and less waiting time at the gate.
So far, the airline said this work has yielded a 22 point upward swing in its Net Promoter Score, with Jetstar also seeing its own 19 point improvement.
