May was hectic for Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) and its share price, which fell 5% over the course of the month. At the time of writing, shares in Qantas are trading for $4.70, down 0.32%.
Last month, the airline was affected by renewed lockdowns in Victoria, delays to the opening of Australia's borders, and an Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) ruling.
Let's take a closer look at the month that's been for the Qantas share price on the ASX.
International woes
Early in the month, Qantas faced 2 setbacks regarding its plans to restart international flights.
The first was the ACCC's plan to deny the airline's proposal to partner with Japan Airlines.
The 2 airlines wanted to coordinate their flights between Australia and Japan under a 5-year joint business arrangement.
The ACCC's Chair, Rod Sims, said the airlines were already each other's strongest competition on the route. By working together, the space could be conglomerated to the detriment of travellers.
The second downfall for Qantas' international travel plans came via the Federal Budget.
Previously, Australia's borders were expected to open in October. The Budget, and the slow vaccine rollout, pushed that date back to the middle of 2022.
Domestic news
Despite the delayed resumption of Qantas' international services weighing on the airline's share price last month, it had a number of wins at home.
First, Qantas announced increased domestic travel and its cost-reduction measures are likely to boost the airline's revenue into the green shortly. Though, Qantas specified its hopes rested on Australia experiencing no further lockdowns.
Of course, Qantas was hit when Victoria went into a 7-day lockdown on Friday.
Many Victorian residents were banned from travelling interstate last Wednesday.
Finally, after flagging that Qantas could be offering incentives to get vaccinated, the airline's CEO Alan Joyce told Today that vaccinated Australians could win free holidays, starting in July. Joyce said:
We are looking at giving 1000 points flight vouchers, credits and we are going to offer ten mega prizes, at least one for each state and territory, where a family of four get unlimited travel on the Qantas and Jetstar network, anywhere in the network for a year…
I'm encouraging a 'Team Australia' moment where every corporate out there helps with this vaccine rollout and to reward people that have had the vaccine.
The airline will work with hotel group Accor to supply its winning families with accommodation.
Qantas share price snapshot
So far, 2021 hasn't been a good year on the ASX for the Qantas share price.
The Qantas share price has fallen 4.68% year to date. Though, its gained 16.71% since this time last year.
