Higher fuel bills? Qantas says bring it on

Qantas boss Alan Joyce says his airline is well placed to cope with the rising oil prices that spooked some of its investors Thursday, and is confident it can find savings to balance out a growing fuel bill. The airline revealed that earnings from its domestic operations jumped by 25% to A$1.1b last financial year despite rising fuel costs, as it flew its planes closer to capacity and nudged up ticket prices. “The domestic businesses will continue to perform really well and we’re seeing really strong demand," Joyce said. "We have to believe that domestic will at least recover fuel [costs] and maybe do a bit better than that." Qantas International's earnings meanwhile rose by 7% to $399m, thanks to a $80m saving from moving its overseas hub from Dubai to Singapore, and replacing fuel-chugging jumbo jets with Boeing 787 Dreamliners. <br/>