Qantas says foreign ownership cap could make fleet overhaul harder
Qantas has renewed its criticism of the airline's foreign ownership cap, saying it could make it harder to fund a fleet overhaul and buy ultra-long haul jets. While the airline has handed down record-high profits in the past two years, chairman Leigh Clifford said the Qantas Sale Act, which caps foreign ownership at 49% of shares, was still holding it back, including in its ability to raise capital. "We haven't got a particular need at the moment, but at some stage we’re going to have to dramatically renew the fleet," Clifford said. "At some stage we’re going to have to replace the [Airbus] 380s ... and [CEO] Alan [Joyce] has talked of the challenge we’ve put out to Airbus and Boeing for long-range aircraft. Well, these don’t come cheaply." CE Alan Joyce has said he wants to buy ultra-long haul jets, likely to be modified versions of the Boeing 777-X or the Airbus A350-900ULR, to fly non-stop from Australia's east coast to New York and London by 2022. The airline is replacing its 747s with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and has 12 fuel-guzzling A380s in its fleet, which are out of fashion with airlines favouring of more efficient two-jet aircraft. Qantas came close to breaching the ownership cap in October, when foreign shareholdings hit 47.7% of its register. Overseas investors had poured into the stock as it gained altitude, more than doubling in value between January and October. Foreign ownership had slipped to 46.7% by December 15. Breaching the cap triggers a forced sell-down of shares on a "last in, first out" basis.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2018-01-05/oneworld/qantas-says-foreign-ownership-cap-could-make-fleet-overhaul-harder
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Qantas says foreign ownership cap could make fleet overhaul harder
Qantas has renewed its criticism of the airline's foreign ownership cap, saying it could make it harder to fund a fleet overhaul and buy ultra-long haul jets. While the airline has handed down record-high profits in the past two years, chairman Leigh Clifford said the Qantas Sale Act, which caps foreign ownership at 49% of shares, was still holding it back, including in its ability to raise capital. "We haven't got a particular need at the moment, but at some stage we’re going to have to dramatically renew the fleet," Clifford said. "At some stage we’re going to have to replace the [Airbus] 380s ... and [CEO] Alan [Joyce] has talked of the challenge we’ve put out to Airbus and Boeing for long-range aircraft. Well, these don’t come cheaply." CE Alan Joyce has said he wants to buy ultra-long haul jets, likely to be modified versions of the Boeing 777-X or the Airbus A350-900ULR, to fly non-stop from Australia's east coast to New York and London by 2022. The airline is replacing its 747s with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, and has 12 fuel-guzzling A380s in its fleet, which are out of fashion with airlines favouring of more efficient two-jet aircraft. Qantas came close to breaching the ownership cap in October, when foreign shareholdings hit 47.7% of its register. Overseas investors had poured into the stock as it gained altitude, more than doubling in value between January and October. Foreign ownership had slipped to 46.7% by December 15. Breaching the cap triggers a forced sell-down of shares on a "last in, first out" basis.<br/>
