Record Qantas Profits Leave A Sour Taste
The recent controversies surrounding Qantas have done nothing to affect its bottom line, with the company reporting its second-highest profit on record.
Qantas have reported a staggering $1.605 billion profit in the 2025 financial year, up 28% compared to last year, with group revenue rising to nearly $2.4 billion representing an increase of 8.6%.
This is in light of a series of legal, technical and PR bungles from the national airline. Earlier this month, Qantas was ordered by the Australian Federal Court to pay out $210 million in compensation for baggage handlers and ground staff illegally fired during the pandemic.
There’s also the ghost flights scandal where Qantas sold tickets for cancelled flights, a costly and misguided refit on part of its fleet, accusations of a toxic corporate culture, and a data breach that saw personal information stolen from 5.7 million customers. Yet, none of this has deterred travellers from choosing Qantas as their preferred carrier.
In fairness, current Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson received a fractured inheritance when she took over from Alan Joyce. But Hudson has done nothing to repair the company’s image that was tarnished by her predecessor. Instead, she seems intent on driving profits and dividends at the expense of its customers and employees.
Surely the shareholders expect more from their premium investment, or are dissenting voices easily quelled by the soaring dividends? It’s easy to visualise how quickly commitments to service, quality and value for money are traded for immense profit. But that cannot be accepted as an easy excuse for the insidious way Qantas operates.
Qantas is insulated by a voracious PR team that works to preserve the company’s reputation and public image, manipulating the media narrative. Meanwhile, an ACCC investigation revealed ticket prices remained steady as operating cost, such as fuel, fell. So, the cost of doing business can’t be blamed either.
As our national airline, Qantas has a long way to go to restore its former glory, which may be irredeemable at this point considering its steady decline as a world-class carrier as reflected in its falling rank in the World Airline Awards.
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