How wine sales helped Qantas cut its pandemic losses
Qantas Airways’ full year results were awash with red as the carrier continued to weather the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. But there was at least one bright spot: wine sales. Wine may not be top of mind when it comes to airline results. But at Qantas, a record level of point redemptions through the Qantas Wine shop and its other on-the-ground retail businesses helped generate a positive A$1b (US$726m) cash contribution from the airline’s loyalty segment to its overall results during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in June. The airline even added 200,000 new loyalty members during the year. While not enough to push the airline into the black — it lost A$2.4b — loyalty cash flows helped staunch the red ink. This year was something of a roller coaster for Qantas. With nearly all of its international flying grounded amid strict Australian border restrictions, it relied on its domestic segment — including Qantas, QantasLink and JetStar Airways — during the year. At the peak it flew 92% of pre-crisis domestic capacity before new lockdowns forced it to par back schedules since June. Qantas plans to fly just 38% of 2019 domestic capacity during the September quarter.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2021-08-27/oneworld/how-wine-sales-helped-qantas-cut-its-pandemic-losses
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/logo.png
How wine sales helped Qantas cut its pandemic losses
Qantas Airways’ full year results were awash with red as the carrier continued to weather the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. But there was at least one bright spot: wine sales. Wine may not be top of mind when it comes to airline results. But at Qantas, a record level of point redemptions through the Qantas Wine shop and its other on-the-ground retail businesses helped generate a positive A$1b (US$726m) cash contribution from the airline’s loyalty segment to its overall results during the 2021 fiscal year that ended in June. The airline even added 200,000 new loyalty members during the year. While not enough to push the airline into the black — it lost A$2.4b — loyalty cash flows helped staunch the red ink. This year was something of a roller coaster for Qantas. With nearly all of its international flying grounded amid strict Australian border restrictions, it relied on its domestic segment — including Qantas, QantasLink and JetStar Airways — during the year. At the peak it flew 92% of pre-crisis domestic capacity before new lockdowns forced it to par back schedules since June. Qantas plans to fly just 38% of 2019 domestic capacity during the September quarter.<br/>
