Qantas has announced that within the next five years they will be launching direct flights from Australia’s east coast to London and New York, reducing flight times for travellers.
The changes will see travel time cut from 24 hours to just over 20 hours for a direct flight from Sydney to London, while also reducing the Sydney to New York flight time by three hours.
Non-stop flights will reduce long layovers by eliminating unnecessary stops to refuel.
Flight routes have been significantly shortened since 1947, when the Kangaroo route took four days and seven stops to get from Sydney to London.
Qantas is challenging Boeing and Airbus to build a new aircraft to perform these flights. The aircraft will be capable of longer non-stop flights by 2022, hoping to retire older Boeing 747s by 2020 for long-range aircrafts.
Over the next 3 years, the airline plans to save $400 million per year to implement the retiring of 747s and upgrades in new aircrafts.
#Investment Qantas cruises into second-highest profit on record https://t.co/oiiebAD9TB https://t.co/p9EgXgQdZq pic.twitter.com/QcjG1dvfEz
— Swiss Banking (@SwissBanking) August 25, 2017
Qantas CEO Alan Joyce stressed the importance of an ever-growing culture for the airline.
“We operate in a very competitive environment, so continuous improvement is crucial,” he said.
Qantas has reached a full-year profit of $852 million before a $373 million buyback over the last financial year.
Historically high profits of $1.03 billion in the 2015-2016 financial year have dropped to $852 million over the 12 months prior to 30 June 2017, falling 17.2 percent.
Despite the drops in profits, 2017 still marks the second best financial return in the organisation’s history.
Qantas staff will receive the perk of bonuses up to $2500, with part-time staff receiving similar bonuses of up to $2000.
