Qantas has set up a task force headed by executive Lesley Grant to find ways to arrest the decline of the airline’s international market share.
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said yesterday that the task force would “explore options that will invigorate the business, generate new and profitable markets, and protect our jobs and assetsâ€.
Joyce has warned that capacity has flooded into Australia from China, the Middle East and elsewhere, threatening the international airline’s viability.
“To give you an idea, total growth in direct aviation capacity to Australia between 2003 and 2009 was 39 percent. Meanwhile total inbound passenger growth was only about 10 percent.
“So that tells us these carriers are not growing the market, but simply taking existing demand. And the result is that Qantas International market share has fallen from 35 percent to 20 percent.
“Meanwhile the majority of our Qantas assets are tied up in this part of the business and it absorbs the majority of our capital expenditure.â€
Joyce added, “As an end-of-the-line carrier, serving a market of 22 million people, in a marketplace flooded with so much capacity that our competitors aren’t even using their full quota, we face severe limits to growth.
“If we continue on our current path, there will be a real question mark over the viability of Qantas International.
“And I have no intention of letting our flagship business decay through lack of action.
“Qantas is a great national and international airline. It is time we looked at opportunities to become a great global airline.â€
by Ian Jarrett
