Qantas has been seeing big returns on its budget Jetstar subsidiary. Photo courtesy of Qantas
Qantas Group met or exceeded all financial targets en route to a record profit of $976 million underlying before taxes in the first half of the 2018 fiscal year according to CEO Alan Joyce in his recent address.
Joyce also highlighted the 787 Dreamliner’s launch as a success for the Australian airline group. He pointed to new international routes, such as Perth-to-London, and new hubs in Perth and Singapore for Qantas International.
Jetstar, Qantas’ budget airline subsidiary, is succeeding both domestically and in Asia through the first half of the year. Joyce announced that Jetstar will begin taking delivery of 18 Airbus A321 NEOs in 2020, which will enable travel between Australian cities and Bali.
Qantas will establish the Qantas Group Pilot Academy to produce up to 500 pilots per year, Joyce said, making it among the biggest in the southern hemisphere. Qantas expects to start with around 100 Qantas pilots-to-be per year but grow to the goal of 500 and to train for the industry more broadly. Joyce also stressed that Qantas will endeavor to train men and women in equal number.