Qantas falls well short of Joyce's 70% market share prediction

Qantas and Jetstar ended 2022 with 61 per cent of the domestic market – far lower than the 70% repeatedly predicted by Alan Joyce last year. It comes after a new analysis by the ACCC revealed Virgin flew 33.6% of all passengers in October and Rex 5.3%, numbers that remained “relatively stable” throughout the year. The figures are significant because the domestic industry is now back to around 90 per cent of pre-pandemic passenger traffic, meaning market share figures are likely to accurately reflect the reality of each airline’s performance long-term. Qantas CEO Joyce predicted during COVID that his airline group, which includes Jetstar, would secure “at least” a 70 per cent share of the market. Speaking with CNN last year, for example, Joyce said, “We’ll have 70% domestic share at least, a lot better than we had pre-COVID – that’s where we make the bulk of our money.” Virgin, however, has surpassed its own predictions, after last year stating it wanted to secure 33% of the market. The ACCC’s Airline Competition in Australia quarterly report, which contained the findings, also said it is “expecting” airfares to go down after the holidays end and more employees are recruited.<br/>