Qantas set to unveil further ‘significant’ fleet cuts as coronavirus impact hits demand

The company said it is working on the full extent of changes to be unveiled as soon as Tuesday.

Qantas is set to unveil further significant fleet cuts on Tuesday. Picture: Getty Images

Qantas is set to unveil further significant fleet cuts on Tuesday in the wake of the slump in demand due to the coronavirus.

The company said in a statement earlier Monday the position was fluid and it is working on the full extent of changes to be unveiled as soon as Tuesday.

The company is unlikely to go as far as cutting its international division or as much as 80 per cent fleet cuts as some are tipping, but sources said the cuts would be significant.

“The new restrictions announced by various jurisdictions over the weekend will have a major impact on international and domestic travel demand, which will require further cuts to the Qantas Group’s flying schedule beyond what we announced just last week,” a Qantas spokesman said.

“We’ve moved immediately to offer a booking waiver to our customers and we’re working through the implications for our schedule now given the expected impact on demand, with a view to announcing more detail as soon as possible,” the spokesman added.

Qantas has already been cutting back routes. The carrier cancelled more than 20 return flights on Asia and trans-Tasman routes. These include eight between Sydney and Hong Kong, five between Sydney and Sapporo, five between Melbourne-Auckland, and others on Brisbane-Tokyo, Melbourne-Tokyo and Sydney-Osaka routes.