Qantas Airways Ltd, Australia’s flagship carrier, said on May 19 it expects its international capacity to reach about 100% of pre-Covid-19 levels by March 2024, as it plans to add more seats and aircraft to its global network. The carrier plans to add about 1 million seats to its international network over a 12-month period starting late-October, Qantas said. It has brought back five international aircraft into its fleet in the past six months and will lease two Airbus A330s from Finnair to meet additional capacity.
“The rebound in demand for international travel since borders reopened has been incredibly strong…,” CEO Alan Joyce said in a statement, while flagging a mismatch between supply and demand for international flying.
In July 2022, ahead of its commercial launch, the country’s newest airline had invested in a 14,000 sq feet, dedicated Learning Academy, to deliver training on various aspects of safety, service, and quality. This new facility adds another 20,000 sq ft of technologically forward, learning capabilities for the modern aviation world.
Qantas said in March it expects to create more than 8,500 highly skilled jobs in Australian aviation over the next decade, including 1,600 new positions for pilots and 4,500 roles for cabin crew.
In a separate statement on May 19, the airline said construction had started on a new flight training centre in Sydney, which would train up to 4,500 Qantas and Jetstar pilots and cabin crew each year from early 2024.
