oneworld

Qantas saw its underlying before-tax profit fall 19% to A$780m in the December half after a spike in the oil price blew a hole in its earnings. The airline said its fuel bill for the 6 months to Dec 31 had risen by US$416m, but it was able to recover most of that by keeping a lid on capacity and flying its planes with fewer empty seats. Qantas' international operations bore more than half ($219m) of the higher fuel costs, which drove its earnings down 60% to $90m. Earnings from the company's Qantas and Jetstar domestic operations grew 1% to $659m. Qantas CE Alan Joyce said forward bookings were strong, competitor capacity growth had slowed internationally and was fairly flat domestically, and oil prices had eased. “We expect to completely recover our increased fuel costs by the end of this financial year," Joyce said. <br/>

Cathay Pacific expects to post a net profit of around HK$2.3b (US$293m) for 2018, with signs that its transformation programme is delivering results. The guidance represents a major turnaround on the HK$1.26b net loss posted in 2017. "In 2018, the passenger business benefited from capacity growth, a focus on customer service and improved revenue management," states the company. "Load factors were sustained and yield improved despite competitive pressures. The cargo business was strong. Capacity, yield and load factors increased. The company’s transformation programme has had a positive impact." It cautions that the guidance is based on a preliminary reviews of its unaudited group accounts, with the full result set to be announced in March. <br/>