Strong demand for air travel and limited domestic competition are among the factors that have helped Australia’s two largest airline groups, Qantas and Virgin Australia to finish up the first half of the 2024-25 financial year on a high note, according to a new report from the competition watchdog.

Qantas and Perth Airport reached an historic commercial agreement today which will unlock a multi-billion-dollar wave of investment and deliver new international and domestic flights, giving a major boost to Australia’s tourism industry. As part of the 12-year agreement, Perth Airport will invest around $3 billion in new terminal facilities and a new parallel runway which will generate immediate and ongoing economic growth and job creation.

Western Australia’s Margaret River region is now a short, direct flight away.

Qantas Group has confirmed it is in the final stages of the development of a digital health pass that all passengers on international Qantas and Jetstar flights will be required to use once overseas flights resume.

The Australian and Tasmanian Governments will bankroll the relaunch of nonstop international flights to Hobart from January 2021.

Qantas has announced a three-year, three-pronged strategy aimed at accelerating the airline’s recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The plan will see the Qantas Group let go of at least 6,000 staff across Qantas and Jetstar and the immediate retirement of Qantas’ remaining six Boeing 747-400 workhorses, while the reintroduction of its Airbus A380 double-deck fleet (12) is uncertain.

Qantas Group staff could find themselves working temporarily for the likes of grocery giant Woolworths and telecommunications company Telstra after the Australian carrier this week confirmed that some 20,000 staff would be laid off during the coronavirus pandemic currently gripping the globe.