Qantas boosts capacity 9pc in February from year ago

New services to the US and Asia helped Qantas increase capacity 9.5pc in February from a year ago.

Qantas Airways boosted capacity by 9.5 per cent in February from a year ago after adding services to the US and Asia.

Qantas (QAN) said it increased capacity by 10.3 per cent in its international business after it added services to San Francisco, Tokyo, Hong Kong and Singapore earlier in the financial year.

Capacity in the domestic business rose by 6.4 per cent due to growth on East Coast and leisure routes that outweighed cuts in weaker resources markets, which have been hit by the global commodities downturn.

Jetstar International capacity increased by 16.8 per cent, driven mostly by the higher seat count of Boeing Co.’s 787 Dreamliner aircraft compared to the Airbus Group A330 aircraft they have replaced.

The increased capacity reflected rising demand, with the group’s revenue passenger kilometres increasing by 9.1 per cent. The latest period was also boosted by the extra day in February due to the leap year.

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