Happy days for airfares, and they’ll keep on falling: Joyce

Consumers have never had it better when it comes to the cost of airfares, says Qantas chief Alan Joyce.

Consumers have never had it better when it comes to the cost of airfares, says Qantas chief Alan Joyce, who believes plane ticket prices will keep falling as the airline ­continues to cut costs and pass on lower fuel price benefits to ­customers.

Mr Joyce’s declaration came as he yesterday delivered Qantas’s largest profit — a 57 per cent ­increase in pre-tax profit of $1.53 billion — following a three-year cost-cutting program and a continued depression in global oil prices (the chief component in jet fuel).

“The aviation industry is one of the few industries that every year, on average, airfares come down,” he said.

“They have come down for the history of Qantas for 95 years and I’m sure for the next 95 years they will continue to come down.

“You are seeing the benefit of fuel (savings) being passed on to consumers … domestically and internationally.”

Mr Joyce pointed to 2000 when the now-defunct Ansett was the official airline of the Sydney Olympic Games. Then, a return flight between Sydney and Melbourne cost $400 compared with an average fare with Qantas today of $160; a flight to Hong Kong would have cost $1800 against today’s price of about $900.

“Airfares are the lowest they have been in 30 years and we have seen some very aggressive specials out there,” Mr Joyce said.

He said competition would ­remain fierce for inter­national flights but Qantas was hoping to bolster its international business, which posted a record earnings ­result of $722 million, as it looked to Asia and the US for growth. “We are seeing very strong demand from Asia. The Chinese market is booming, the Japanese market has been ­exceptionally good,” he said.