Qantas announces annual loss of $1.9 billion.

Australian airline Qantas announced on Thursday an 82% drop in revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic and announced an annual loss of $1.9 billion.

Qantas recorded a “solid first half” followed by the “near-total collapse of flight demand” in the second half.

“The covid-19 has left a AUD4 billion hole in our revenue and a AUD1.2 billion hole in our corresponding profit, despite the fact that there would have been a very solid new result,” said the company’s chief executive officer, Alan Joyce.

The epidemic will continue to have a “huge impact” on the company, with a “significant loss” expected in the coming year, he added.

Qantas has cut 6,000 jobs and grounded 100 aircraft for a period that could last a year as part of a $10 billion cost-cutting operation.

The company has stated that it does not plan to resume international flights before mid-March 2021.

Its main competitor in Australia, Virgin Australia, announced in April that it was voluntarily declaring a suspension of payments following the closure of international borders and the collapse of domestic flights.

Virgin Australia announced in early August that it was closing one of its low-cost subsidiaries, Tigerair Australia, and cutting 3,000 jobs. The US private equity firm Bain Capital’s offer to acquire Virgin Australia, accepted at the end of June, is due for approval in August.

By AFP – El Economista