Australian airline Qantas has said it is “on track” to deliver an underlying profit for the first half of this financial year.
The financially-troubled carrier’s CEO Alan Joyce told the Qantas annual general meeting that "preliminary figures indicate that the group has made an underlying profit before tax for the first half of the financial year.”
“On the back of the hard work of the people of the Qantas Group, we are on track to deliver an underlying profit for the first half of the financial year,” Joyce told the meeting.
In August Qantas reported losses of A$2.8 billion for the 12 months ending June 30 2014, the worst in the airline’s history.
Joyce confirmed that passenger numbers improved in the three months to September, and the battle for domestic market share had cooled.
A "more benign operating environment", including a lower Australian dollar and cheaper oil prices, was also proving beneficial, he added. As are results of a $2 billion cost cutting program.
The results follow an announcement earlier this year that the airline is undergoing a transformation programme aimed at streamlining and modernising its operations. It plans to cut routes, sell aircraft and axe 5,000 staff.