Qantas grabs bigger slice of market

A REDUCTION in capacity by foreign airlines flying to Australia has delivered Qantas Airways a sizeable boost in market share.

The international airline activity report by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics reveals Qantas carried 18.2 per cent of all travellers in and out of the country in March.

That is up from 16.9 per cent in the same month a year earlier. It is the biggest market share recorded by Qantas since May 2012.

In March, Jetstar held 9 per cent of the market and Jetstar Asia had another 0.2 per cent, giving the total Qantas group a market share of 27.4 per cent. Virgin had 6.7 per cent. Jetstar remains the only low-fare carrier in the top 10 international airlines servicing Australia.

Qantas’s powerhouse performance follows the launch of non-stop Perth-London services, and the airline’s gradual replacement of Boeing 747s with new 787-9 Dreamliners. Qantas is expected to launch more international services as a result of its partnership with American Airlines.

Emirates’ market share fell from 7.8 per cent to 6.8 per cent in March. Its available seats on flights to and from Australia reduced from 388,280 late last year to 357,898 in March.