Qantas Airways Gets A Boost From Cricket World Cup Demand

30th Mar 2015

Australia's flag carrier, Qantas Airways, enjoyed a boost on its domestic network in terms of improved demand and higher fares amid the Cricket World Cup fever.

Qantas said that returns on fares, or yields, grew during February as cricket fans took flights and flocked matches around the country. The Cricket World Cup continued until Sunday, ending with a win for Australia against New Zealand in the final match. Qantas is expected to publish its statistics for March in the near future.

The international division of Qantas Airways also reported improvements as majority of its Asian routes took advantage of the Chinese New Year period.

The carrier, the third oldest in the world, revealed plans for boosting services to Dallas, Queenstown, and Hong Kong during high-demand periods of the year.

Compared to the same period last year, all of Qantas's divisions, which include Jetstar Airways and the Jetstar Group, declared higher yields and revenue per-available-seat kilometre during the month of February. Both Qantas Airways and Virgin Australia expanded the number of flights ahead of expected demand back in February.

Qantas reduced its domestic capacity in February by 4.8 percent in response to softer demand in Queensland and Western Australia. On the other hand, its wholly owned subsidiary, Jetstar reported a 3.9 percent growth in domestic capacity in February.

Overall, Qantas filled 78.1 percent of seats in February (including international operations), an improvement from 76.2 percent registered in the previous year.