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Qantas has ordered another 20 Airbus A321XLR jets after making $1.6 billion in full-year profit, up 28 per cent from a year ago.
The airline posted a bottom-line net profit of $1.6 billion in the last financial year, up 28.3 per cent from a year ago.
Its underlying pre-tax profit rose 15 per cent to $2.4 billion.
Revenue saw an 8.6% increase, reaching $23.8 billion due to the expansion of its global operations and high demand for both domestic business and leisure travel.
The airline will order another 20 Airbus A321XLR aircraft which will start arriving in 2028, taking its total order for the next-generation planes to 48 aircraft.
The jets have a range of 8,700km, around 3,000km more than the Boeing 737 it replaces, and will allow Qantas to launch flights to destinations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific islands that aren’t currently viable.
“The A321XLRs will not only enhance our service to the corporate sector traveling between Perth and eastern Australia, but will also enable us to increase flights on current routes to Southeast Asia and explore new routes like Perth-India and Adelaide-Singapore,” stated Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson.
Qantas’ first two A321XLRs, configured for domestic and short-haul international trips, are expected to begin flying in mid-September on the Sydney-Melbourne and Sydney-Perth routes.
“Investing in new aircraft is one of the most significant ways that we can provide our customers with a better flying experience, and these billion-dollar investments are possible because of our continued strong financial performance,” Hudson said.
Qantas will pay investors a final dividend of 16.5 cent per share as well as a special dividend of 9.9 cents per share.
Qantas outsourced more than 1,800 baggage handlers, cleaners and ground staff in 2020, in a move the Federal Court ruled was designed to curb union bargaining power in wage negotiations
