Key points
- The Qantas share price is up more than 1% today
- The company's shares have gained 5.27% since Thursday's market close
- Qantas announced a new pilot training centre today
The Qantas share price is climbing today but it's not the only ASX travel share in the green.
The company's shares are currently swapping hands at $4.79, up 1.27%. In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained just 0.1% at the time of writing.
Not only is the Qantas share price up today, it has increased 5.27% since market close on Thursday. Its ASX travel share peer Webjet Ltd (ASX: WEB) is also 3.59% higher today. Webjet's share price has risen 6.29% since the January 27 close.
Meanwhile, Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) has lifted 4.51% in today's session so far. It's up 7.74% since last Thursday's close.
What is happening at Qantas?
Today, Qantas had news of its own. The company has opened a new pilot training centre at Brisbane Airport to train 900 pilots a year.
Commenting on the announcement, CEO Alan Joyce said:
Having simulators based in Brisbane is great news for our Queensland-based pilots and is a clear vote of confidence in the long term future of aviation in this country despite the challenges we've faced recently.
Qantas' very first flying school was set up in 1927 in a tin shed at Eagle Farm, so we've clearly come a long way since then.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has maintained a $7 price target and overweight rating on the Qantas share price, the Australian Financial Review reported this morning.
Analyst Andrew Scott said:
We believe investors may look through short-term disruptions forward to recovered earnings capacity, given the balance sheet strength.
Speculation international visitors could return to Australia in the next few months could also be helping travel shares.
On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters international borders may fully open "before Easter".
However, the boss of Brisbane Airport Gert-Jan de Graaff told The Age newspaper Australia is losing a race to connect with the rest of the world and it could take three to five years to recover. He said:
Most other countries are already open, so the airlines have already allocated some capacity and aircraft to those other markets. We're one-nil behind.
Currently, Australia's international borders are only open to vaccinated tourists from South Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and Japan. Exemptions are also available to Australian citizens, permanent residents, and eligible visa holders.
Qantas share price snap shot
The Qantas share price has soared 6.44% in the past year. However, it's fallen almost 4% in the past month, down more than 2% in the past week alone.
Meanwhile, the broader ASX index has returned roughly 5% over the past 12 months.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $9 billion based on its current share price.
