Australian carrier Qantas Airways expects to break even again from 2015 after it forged a tie-up with Middle East carrier Emirates to bolster its Asia business.
The partnership with Emirates, announced last week and to be in force from April 2013, is expected to improve the international performance of the troubled Australian airline. The 10-year alliance will lead to a shift in Qantas’ hub for European flights to Dubai from Singapore, as Qantas ended its long partnership with British Airways.
Qantas’ international division contributed significantly to the airline’s US$257 million loss in the 12 months through June 30, 2012, its first since it was privatized in 1995, as it struggled with high fuel rates and strong rivalry from Middle East airlines that provide a wider range of connections to Europe.
Citing the move as “momentous,” Alan Joyce, Qantas chief executive, said, “We see a path through to this business breaking even by financial year 2015.”
With the Emirates partnership, Qantas said gaps to Europe would be covered because Qantas flights to London that used to make stopovers in Singapore or Hong Kong would now be redeployed to other Asian destinations. “[That] makes us more competitive against Singapore [Airlines] and [Hong Kong-based] Cathay,” said Joyce.
He added, “Qantas to Europe and to Asia would have had problems without this deal with Emirates. We’ve made it very clear that we had to fix those two problems.”
Photo courtesy of Qantas
