QANTAS TEAMS WITH EMIRATES, ENDS BRITISH AIRWAYS ALLIANCE
Image : Jerome Favre/Bloomberg
Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN) will work with Emirates on European routes as it ends a partnership with British Airways after almost two decades in a bid to end losses on international operations.
The accord will let Qantas add more than 60 new one-stop destinations to its network, as it shifts its European hub to Dubai from Singapore, according to a statement today. The two airlines will offer 98 flights a week to Dubai under the 10-year agreement, which is due to begin in April.
A partnership with Emirates, the world’s largest carrier by international passenger traffic, would allow Qantas to cut loss-making long-haul routes and focus on its profitable domestic and budget airlines.
Qantas jumped in Sydney trading on speculation cooperation with the world’s largest international carrier and changes to its Asian services will help it turn around long-haul operations that lost A$450 million ($459 million) in the year ended June. The Sydney-based carrier has struggled to compete with fast- growing Middle East airlines that have used hubs in the Gulf to offer a wider range of connections between Australia and Europe.
“It’s a huge step in the right direction,” said Sondal Bensan, an analyst at BT Investment Management Ltd., whose parent Westpac Banking Corp. owns 5 percent of Qantas. “Take this in conjunction with the fleet deal with Boeing and it’s a material change in both their balance sheet and their operating profit outlook.”
06/08/2012 : David Fickling / Bloomberg.
No comments:
Post a Comment