Qantas does not plan to remove booking change fees permanently - CEO

Qantas does not plan to permanently remove booking change fees, as major US airlines have done, because it would damage its ability to manage revenue over the longer term, its CE said Wednesday. The airline has temporarily waived the fees, even on its budget offshoot Jetstar, to provide passengers with more flexibility during the pandemic. But United, American Airlines and Delta this week announced plans to do so permanently. “I think when certainty comes back I am of the view it is a big part of how we revenue manage and yield,” Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said of the fees at the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit. “If every airfare is going to be flexible, your revenue management system I think fundamentally breaks down over the long term,” he added. Joyce said the airline’s immediate focus was on adding flights that covered their cash costs, but that it would later lift ticket prices to help return to bottom-line profitability.<br/>