The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price was a strong performer on Thursday.
The airline operator's shares jumped 7% to $4.49 after announcing plans to increase the number of domestic flights in June and July.
What did Qantas announce?
With travel restrictions starting to ease across the country, both Qantas and Jetstar will increase their domestic and regional flying for June and July.
According to the release, the additional services will see capacity increase from 5% of pre-pandemic levels, to 15% by the end of June. This represents an increase of more than 300 return flights per week.
The company is prepared to further increase the number of flights it operates in July. This will depend on travel demand and the further relaxation of state borders. Qantas revealed that it has the ability to increase the number of flights to upwards of 40% of its pre-crisis domestic capacity by the end of July.
Where will Qantas be flying to?
The company advised that the additional flights include more services on capital city routes. This is particularly the case with Melbourne-Sydney and a number of routes to-and-from Canberra.
As travel restrictions start to ease domestically, Qantas and Jetstar will increase domestic and regional flying for June and July, with more than 300 additional return flights per week by the end of June. Read more: https://t.co/iW5sNBpPtZ pic.twitter.com/DNO3HM2p57
Qantas (@Qantas) June 4, 2020
As you can see above, it will also increase intra-state flights for Western Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, and South Australia. Weekly flights to Broome, Cairns, and Rockhampton will see also receive significant boost.
In addition to this, flights will resume on eight routes that are not currently being operated. This includes flights from Sydney to Byron Bay, which previously saw its route launch postponed because of the pandemic.
Will there be enough demand?
Also supporting the Qantas share price on Thursday were positive comments by Qantas CEO, Alan Joyce.
Mr Joyce believes Australians are eager to take to the skies again. He commented: "We know there is a lot of pent up demand for air travel and we are already seeing a big increase in customers booking and planning flights in the weeks and months ahead."
"We are gradually adding flights in June as demand levels increase, which will go from 5 per cent of pre-crisis levels currently to 15 per cent by late June. We can quickly ramp up flying in time for the July school holidays if border restrictions have eased more by then," Joyce added.
Mr Joyce also revealed that Qantas is taking precautions to make the flying experience safe for travellers.
He explained: "Customers will notice a number of differences when they fly, such as masks and sanitising wipes, and we'll be sending out information before their flight so they know exactly what to expect and have some extra peace of mind. Importantly, the Australian Government's medical experts have said the risk of contracting Coronavirus on an aircraft is low."
Overall, this looks like a big positive for Qantas and should help limit the cash burn it is currently experiencing.
