Qantas was Australia’s most on-time domestic airline in 2024, though Virgin Australia boasted the most on-time departures in December.
Around 76.1% of Qantas and QantasLink flights departed on time in 2024, compared to 73.7% of Virgin Australia flights, the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics said. Virgin Australia reported 74.4% of its flights left on time in December, however, above Qantas’ 73.1%.
“We know just how important it is for our customers to get to their destination on time and we’ve seen really positive improvements off the back of the work our teams have been doing over the past twelve months,” said Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson. “We are investing a lot in areas like engineering and efficient boarding processes to further improve our reliability and are working with the broader aviation sector on how we can lift the performance of the industry as a whole.”
Qantas’ cancellation rate was 3.4% in 2024, and 2.7% in December. Cancellation rates across airlines were 1.8% in December, with Virgin Australia posting the lowest rate at 0.6%.
December is the first month since April 2024 that Virgin Australia bested Qantas in on-time departures, on-time arrivals, and cancellation rates.
“Over the past twelve months we have been working hard to improve our operational performance, and it is wonderful to see these positive results, especially at such an important time of the year,” said Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka.
Qantas also said this week that it would re-tool its loyalty program, rolling out a number of changes across 2025. This will increase points earned on flights by up to 25%, but also raise the points needed for upgrades and rewards seats by 5 to 25%.
Fees for Qantas’ Classic Reward seats will increase, beginning in August. Reward seats will be made available aboard partnering airlines like Finnair, Air France, and Hawaiian Airlines.
Qantas’ share price (ASX: QAN) closed at A$9.38, up from a previous close at $9.05. Its market capitalisation is $14.2 billion.
