Higher fares, fewer flights: Qantas goes into damage control

April 14, 2026 — 2:57pm

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Cancelled flights, $20,000 one-way international airfares, moves to bolster the balance sheet – sounds familiar? Qantas is in the eye of the US-Iran storm as it attempts to use all weapons in its arsenal to blunt a hit of up to $800 million in additional fuel costs.

It has a COVID-esque feel to it without the existential hue, without ghost flights sold to customers or the airline’s passenger service catastrophe. But make no mistake, Qantas is in damage control as its profit is being ravaged by Donald Trump’s Middle East war.

Qantas, like all airlines, is dealing with a rapidly evolving crisis by pulling every operational and pricing lever, including cutting capacity on domestic and some international flights and redeploying aircraft to in-demand routes to Europe.

Some near-term fares on the kangaroo route have risen to close to $20,000 one way for........

© The Sydney Morning Herald