‘A bit of a beat up’: Sky News host questions Qantas CEO Alan Joyce after he defended exorbitant prices

Sky News Australia presenter Laura Jayes has questioned comments made by Qantas boss Alan Joyce after he was pressed about the exorbitant prices being charged for domestic routes.

The national carrier’s Chief Executive was fronting a press conference following the airline’s latest profit results when he was asked to justify recent airfares, with one journalist citing a $900 one-way ticket from Sydney to Melbourne.

Mr Joyce sought to defend Qantas’ prices, arguing his company has “unbelievable competition” compared to others.

“There are 56 carriers we compete against internationally. I don’t think there’s many companies in Australia that could say there’s that level of direct competition against us,” he said.

“We have now four domestic jet airlines operating. We have never had that level of competition today.”

Jayes however pushed back against the comments after dipping away from the media briefing, arguing Qantas dominated the domestic market.

“He talked about the level of competition. That was probably a bit of a beat up from him in terms of the level of competition here in Australia,” Jayes said.

“Yes there are other carriers, but in terms of frequency of flights, Qantas certainly does dominate the market.

“The good news is fares are trending down. There’s no promise that they will stay that way.”

Qantas delivered an underlying profit of $1.43 billion during the first half of the 2023 financial year.

It said domestic and international fares remain above pre-COVID levels, driven primarily by a 65 per cent increase in fuel and less capacity due to supply chain issues.

In defending the Qantas prices Mr Joyce said customers were happy to pay more for the value received, before adding it didn’t dictate prices in the market.

He cited the premium lounges it has around the world, the partner airlines it has, the inclusive food and checked baggage, and wireless internet.

“You have to look at value. There is plenty of competition,” he said.

“Qantas cannot dictate the airfares in the market, nobody was saying that before COVID, nobody should be saying that now.

“We have so much competition but we will charge a premium for the Qantas product.”

When specifically asked about the “ridiculous” $900 flight example over the AFL Grand Final weekend, Mr Joyce pointed to current airfares operated by budget airline Jetstar.

“At the moment you’ve got airfares that are $39 on Jetstar,” he said.

“Let me talk about value for money in that. To get an Uber from the city centre to the airport, that is the same price.

“And that’s eight kilometres compared to flying people 800 kilometres.”

Mr Joyce conceded there would be peak times when airfares cost more but said that happens to all components of travel such as transport and accommodation.

In a statement released with the company’s earnings, he said prices are “starting to unwind”.

“Fares have risen because of higher fuel costs, but also because supply chain and resourcing issues meant capacity hasn’t kept up with demand,” it said.

“Now those challenges are starting to unwind, we can add more capacity and that will put downward pressure on fares.”