CAPA Centre for Aviation executive chairman Peter Harbison said he would expect Qantas to cut international routes where the net revenue is lowest or negative.
“You’d have to think Singapore is rocky at best, with so much capacity still in there, and [Perth-Singapore] has already come off,” he said. “South Africa, without the South African Airways partnership [which dissolved this year] is also questionable.”
Mr Harbison said it was also possible Qantas could ask partner American Airlines to offer some services to Australia in a move that would allow the Australian carrier to retire some of its aircraft earlier.
Saj Ahmad, chief analyst of London-based StrategicAero Research, said Qantas should not have abandoned its firm orders for Boeing 787s as part of an earlier cost cutting drive.
Qantas cancelled its firm order for 35 787-9 aircraft in August 2012 and instead now has 50 options and purchase rights for 787-9s. It had expected to receive 17 of the long range, fuel efficient, aircraft by June 2016 before the order was restructured.
Thanks Peter Harbison, the new spokesman for bad news?