In a dramatic reversal of fortunes since last year, Qantas has announced half-year profits of more than A$1.4 billion.
It follows the company’s losses of over A$7 billion during the pandemic when Australia imposed stringent travel restrictions.
Its problems persisted throughout the past year, with numerous complaints about canceled flights, missing luggage, and delays.
Strong demand for flights, higher tariffs, and cost-cutting was cited as the reasons for the airline’s turnaround.
As a result of the easing of pandemic travel restrictions, revenue for the six months leading up to the end of December tripled to nearly A$10 billion, according to CEO Alan Joyce.
The A$1.4bn (£793m; $954m) profit compares to a loss of A$456m during the same period last year.
“This is a huge turnaround considering the massive losses we were confronting a year ago,” Mr. Joyce said.
As nations closed their borders in response to the pandemic, many airlines were severely impacted, with Australia imposing some of the strictest travel restrictions in the world.
For over 18 months, the majority of non-Australians were unable to enter the country. And thousands of Australians were detained abroad due to strict quotas on arrivals.
To limit losses, Qantas declared in August 2020 that it would outsource 2,000 ground staff positions and lay off thousands.
However, this resulted in an expensive court case and staffing shortages.
As last year’s restrictions were lifted, the shortages wreaked havoc at Australian airports, where passengers endured lengthy check-in lines and check-in delays, and senior executives were recruited to help fill the gaps.
As anger grew, in August, eggs and toilet paper were allegedly hurled at Mr. Joyce’s A$19 million waterfront home.
After a string of mid-flight technical issues, the carrier denied widespread issues with its aircraft in January, compounding its issues.
Despite these incidents, Qantas regained its position as the safest airline in the world, according to AirlineRatings.com.
Mr. Joyce stated on Thursday that the airline was “reinvesting” in its clients and that, as supply chain and resourcing issues were resolved, passengers would begin to see “fare deflation.”
However, Qantas warned that flights would remain “significantly” higher than 2019 levels.
