Qantas sees COVID-19 vaccine as ‘the key to flight recovery’

Qantas is pinning its hopes for a resumption in international flights on a COVID-19 vaccine as travel bubbles fail to materialise.

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce says a majority of customers back the requirement for international travellers to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before boarding a flight. Picture: Flavio Brancaleone/NCA Newswire

A safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine appears to be Qantas’s best hope for resuming international flights, as quarantine-free travel bubbles appear less likely to eventuate.

Delivering a market update in the wake of domestic border reopenings, Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce on Thursday said international flights were still not expected to resume with any regularity until July next year.

When they did, travellers would need to show proof of having had a COVID-19 vaccine before boarding overseas flights.

Mr Joyce said Qantas would always put safety first even if the plan was not popular. However, a survey of customers had indicated they supported the strategy.

“In the past week we’ve asked some of our customers their thoughts on this and 87 per cent said they would take a COVID-19 vaccine if it was required to travel internationally, and 85 per cent thought it should be required for travel to at least some countries,” he said.

“I’ve never seen research that is as strong on a single issue as this one, so clearly this is the right decision for us to take forward.”

In the event two-way travel bubbles did open up with New Zealand and other relatively COVID-free countries, Qantas would jump on those routes, Mr Joyce said.

He was keeping a close eye on other bubble attempts, such as Singapore-Hong Kong, but recognised the challenges involved.

“That one has been delayed a few times because there have been outbreaks in Hong Kong that have pushed it back so we’re closely watching, and it’s still our position we would put aircraft on one those routes, whether it’s Taiwan, Korea or somewhere else,” said Mr Joyce.

“But the potential for a vaccine to be rolled out faster than the bubbles are happening is very real at this stage.”

A giant snorkeller in Sydney’s Cockle Bay is intended to inspire Sydneysiders to head to tropical north Queensland. Picture: John Grainger

Until international travel resumed, Qantas would focus on domestic travel, with the airline expected to be operating at 80 per cent of its pre-COVID domestic capacity by January.

The figure depended on state borders remaining open, even in the event of new COVID-19 outbreaks.

Mr Joyce again called for a national framework for borders that relied on COVID-19 testing and tracing by the states and territories, so they were not faced with “borders slamming shut again”.

“There’s a very human aspect to these border openings. I’ve never seen so many hugs and kisses at domestic terminals, particularly between cities that are only an hour apart,” he said.

“That need to reunite is what’s driving the strength in bookings.”

In the 72 hours after Queensland announced its border reopening to Sydney and Victoria, Qantas and Jetstar sold 200,000 airfares, and they were also seeing people book months in advance in a sign confidence was returning.

Virgin Australia also reported much improved bookings as the post-administration carrier launched its second major airfare sale in a month, offering 60,000 seats for as little as $75.

In the hope of cashing in on the domestic travel boom, Tourism Tropical North Queensland attempted to whet the appetite of Sydneysiders by dropping a giant inflatable snorkeller into Cockle Bay. TNQ chief executive Mark Olsen said they wanted to dispel the myth that Cairns was too hot and wet for a summer holiday. “Summer is a very special time of the year in the tropics,” he said.