A five-year Qantas Airways plan to reduce dependence on domestic flights and business services and establish two Asian joint-venture partnerships aims to help the Australian carrier to stimulate overseas business. It will lay off 1,000 employees, defer deliveries of six Airbus A380s (and possibly some Boeing 787s), retire four Boeing 747-400s and replace two London services with British Airways code-shares beyond Bangkok and Hong Kong. Plans include a full-service operation with an unidentified Asian carrier and a low-cost carrier (LCC) partnership among its Jetstar subsidiary, Japan Airlines (JAL) and Mitsubishi.
Qantas International has lost money and market share through increased competition and high costs “with no improvement in sight,” according to CEO Alan Joyce. Rescue plans include establishing regional “gateways” through the Oneworld alliance and partnership with South African Airways. (South American services will switch from Buenos Aires to Santiago, Chile.)
