Qantas have added 1 aircraft with a LN 615 there are a lot flying. The game already changed, what were they doing for the last decade?
What they did was hold the value of the long haul fleet on balance sheet at a level that was in excess of realisable market value (or second hand price)
With the auditors they time the decision and reduce the value on balance sheet. That was $2.6 billion of the loss. This loss was levered to get staff to agree to a pay freeze, which most unions blindly obeyed.
The result included a $2.6bn write down to the value of its ageing international fleet.
Excluding the write down and other one-off costs, Qantas made an underlying pre-tax loss of $646m, compared with a $186m profit a year ago.
Miraculously the business turned around, just as Mr Joyce predicted it would.
Incredibly, he predicted the business would be profitable in the first half of financial year 2014-15. And he was right – the Qantas annual general meeting in Perth on Friday will hear a story of an airline transformed, from a record loss to a profit of $789 million – an amazing $3.5 billion turnaround. The prophet of doom is now promoting fat profits.
By writing off $2.56 billion in the value of the fleet last year, Qantas' bottom line this year looks much better, with a more modest depreciation charge of $1.1 billion. This accounting stroke of a pen has improved Qantas' fiscal performance by $326 million.
And, thanks to Saudi Arabia's King Salman, fuel prices have plunged – improving, with its fuel efficiency drive, Qantas' ledger sheet by $597 million.
With all other expenses largely unchanged, it seems this year's stunning "accelerated transformation" is little more than dumb luck and an accounting exercise.
So we have a fleet impairment and then a $597 million saving from lower fuel prices.
Just remember the same contracts and aircraft are the same aircraft and contracts that resulted in "Qantas international in terminal decline" and in late 2013 needing $3 billion of taxpayer's money and an EK alliance to survive..They apparently need neither now...Amazing
Oh and they added ONE 787.
He is audacious and those with whom I consult applaud the audacity. The media long ago ceased to be investigative, so critical analysis is missing, but the right man? Time will tell.