Qantas last week issued its second profit forecast downgrade in less than two months as SARS decimates bookings on some routes by over 60%. The airline also warns that up to 1,500 more jobs could go.
The Australian carrier has not put a figure to its latest profit forecast, but analysts expect a full-year pre-tax profit of about A$500 million ($315 million) - almost 30% down on previous forecasts.
Services to Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan have been worst hit by SARS, with bookings to Hong Kong down 64% and to Japan down 30%. Bookings from Europe have also fallen, with those from France down by 45%, Italy 33% and the UK 14%. As a result, domestic traffic is also down.
Source: Flight International
