12 March 2020
Qantas is slashing international flights by almost 25% due to a fall in demand following the coronavirus outbreak.
Both Qantas and its budget subsidiary Jetstar will cut capacity for the next six months.
Eight of the 10 Qantas Airbus A380s will be grounded and replaced with smaller aircraft, and frequency on many routes, mainly to Asia and the US, will be cut.
“We expect lower demand to continue for the next several months, so rather than taking a piecemeal approach we’re cutting capacity out to mid-September,” chief executive Alan Joyce said.
Joyce is also to forgo some of his A$24m (£12 million) salary and other Qantas executives will take a 30% pay cut during the crisis.
