Qantas began in outback Queensland in 1920 and is now Australia’s biggest airline. Here’s how it makes its money, and why its frequent flyer program is so valuable.
Qantas Airways is Australia’s largest airline group, and one of the biggest companies on the ASX.
It was founded in 1920 in Winton, Queensland, as Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services. It was owned by the federal government for decades, and was privatised between 1993 and 1995. It reports in Australian dollars, and its financial year ends on 30 June.
Flights
Qantas Domestic flies within Australia, where Qantas and Jetstar together carry most domestic passengers. Business travellers, who pay higher fares and are less sensitive to price, are especially important to its profits.
Qantas International flies to Asia, North America, Europe and the Pacific, and partners with other airlines, including Emirates.
Jetstar is its low-cost airline, flying within Australia, New Zealand and to Asia.
Qantas also carries freight, both in the holds of passenger planes and on dedicated freight planes.
Frequent flyers
Qantas Loyalty is one of its most profitable businesses. It sells Qantas Points to banks, credit card companies, supermarkets and other partners, which give them to customers as rewards. Members later spend those points on flights, upgrades and other rewards.
Because Qantas gets paid when points are sold, and often redeems them on seats that would otherwise be empty, the program earns high margins and steady income.
Fuel, planes and the risks
Fuel is one of the airline’s biggest costs, and rises in oil prices hit its profits.
Qantas is spending billions of dollars renewing its fleet. Its Project Sunrise flights will use specially built Airbus A350 planes to fly nonstop from Sydney to London and New York, with the first plane due in 2027.
Qantas’s reputation suffered after the pandemic, when it was fined for selling tickets on flights it had already cancelled, and ordered to pay compensation and penalties for illegally outsourcing about 1,800 ground workers.
The risks include fuel prices, competition, economic downturns, industrial action, safety and events such as wars and pandemics that disrupt travel.
Vanessa Hudson has been chief executive since 2023.
Latest results, as at 9 November 2026
Full year to June 2026, reported 27 August 2026: underlying profit before tax fell $330 million to $2.06 billion, and statutory profit after tax fell to $1.29 billion, as record fuel costs and disruption from conflict in the Middle East hit earnings. Qantas Loyalty’s earnings rose 12 per cent. Qantas paid dividends totalling $600 million, and cancelled a planned $150 million share buyback.
Next update: Qantas reports its half-year results, to December 2026, in February 2027.
