Qantas will be able to maintain strong profits in the domestic market because Virgin Australia’s private equity owners will not allow fare-cutting to get out of hand ahead of its planned share market listing, the airline’s largest institutional investor says.

Pendal Group, which owns about 5 per cent of the national airline, predicted that Qantas shares would continue the run that has seen them gain 20 per cent this year, despite heavy criticism about poor customer service, lost bags and slow refunds.