The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price finished lower on Friday but is still taking flight this year.
At the close of trading yesterday, the airline's shares were down 1.48% at $5.31. For comparison, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was down 1.02%.
Despite the slip, the Qantas share price remains up 6% since the closing bell on 31 December. That compares to a loss of around 3% posted by the ASX 200 so far in 2022.
The Flying Kangaroo has benefited from the reopening of domestic borders as COVID restrictions are rolled back, with Western Australia the remaining laggard.
Investors have also been bidding up the Qantas share price with an eye on the return of international air travel, slated to occur this Monday, 21 February.
But after trouncing the ASX 200 performance this year, is that Qantas share price still good value?
For some insight into that question, we turn to Shaw and Partners senior investment advisor Adam Dawes.
Jam-packed domestic flights
Qantas was among a small basket of ASX shares that Dawes said he'd buy today for a nice return over the coming months.
Despite the fast spread of the Omicron variant Down Under, Dawes said this hasn't really dissuaded air travel. "I took a plane ride last week for the first time in 2 years. And let me tell you, these planes are absolutely jam-packed," he said, adding, "I'm thinking Qantas is a good value play at the moment."
Now the Aussie government is working towards "living with the virus", Dawes believes the company's domestic travel market could see the Qantas share price perform well.
"The stock has been beaten around but they've come out of it — they've reduced costs, their labour figures are okay," he said.
A fly in the ointment for the airline is fast rising jet fuel costs. But according to Dawes, this is having a bigger impact on rival airline, Virgin. "Oil is probably a bit of a concern for the input costs," he said. "But really they've left Virgin battered and bruised."
Qantas also recently announced it would be building a new jet base in Darwin. It will see E190 jets servicing QantasLink routes and a new commercial route between Darwin and Dili.
Qantas share price snapshot
Qantas shares are up almost 14% over the past 12 months, outpacing the 5% gains posted by the ASX 200 over that same time.
Despite rebounding strongly following the initial pandemic-fuelled panic selling, the Qantas share price remains down 25% since the beginning of 2020.
Traditionally a reliable ASX dividend share, Qantas last paid a dividend in September 2019.
