Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce is justified in defending the carrier’s healthy second-half profits. Making money is good for shareholders and tax receipts and, in a post-pandemic world, offers hope that the Australian economy is robust enough to withstand the looming downturn.

However, booking profits at the expense of basic competence in customer service is hard to reconcile, particularly when Qantas enjoys a near-monopoly domestically, and a duopoly on many international routes. Last year’s apologies for delays and lost baggage missed the point in a world still reeling from logistical upheaval.