Sydney, June 26, 2026, 04:03 (AEST)
- Qantas finished up 4.08% at A$10.71 on Thursday, bucking the ASX 200’s 0.7% drop. Airline stocks caught a boost from lower oil prices.
- L1 Capital sold about 10.13 million Qantas shares for A$102.1 million between June 16 and June 22, filings show. The fund’s last trade matched about 98% of the reported volume on June 22. Qantas shares are up 6.1% since then.
- China is set to raise its July refined-fuel export quota to 800,000 metric tons. Asian jet-fuel cash premiums and the monthly spreads have slipped back to levels before the war.
Qantas Airways Limited ASX:QAN finished Thursday up A$0.42 at A$10.71. The stock touched A$10.80 during the session. Qantas ended with a market cap near A$16.2 billion.
L1’s filing shifts the read on the move. One disclosed seller slipped under the 5% mark before shares gained 4%. That doesn’t show L1 kept a lid on the price. The document just confirms L1 dropped out of substantial holder status, not that it exited the stock.
L1 filed on March 9 that it held a 5.02% stake, amounting to 76.03 million shares. The stake’s status shifted just a little more than three months later, which is a quick turnaround for a holding of that scale.
Fuel is still the key swing factor for near-term earnings. Qantas said in April it had about 90% of its second-half crude covered, but it’s still mostly exposed on jet refining margins. The carrier is guiding to fuel costs of A$3.1 billion to A$3.3 billion for the second half and hasn’t started a planned A$150 million share buyback.
Refined-product numbers tell more of the story than just a drop in Brent. According to the latest numbers from the International Air Transport Association, the average global jet-fuel price sat at US$119.17 a barrel, falling 14.2% from last week.
Brent crude hit its lowest since February 27 on Thursday before ticking higher after a cargo ship incident near Oman. “Most of the increase in flows from the Gulf is outbound,” UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said. Inbound routes still need mine clearance and insurer support. The market’s relief isn’t firm yet. Reuters
Qantas is looking at longer-term profits from Project Sunrise. The airline plans to launch its first non-stop Sydney-to-London flight in October 2027 and believes it can generate over A$400 million in extra annual earnings from the project. Aviation analyst John Strickland said, “What they are selling is time,” and pointed out Qantas will need a premium across all cabins. Reuters
Qantas is dropping its Alice Springs-Melbourne route for now and will only run Darwin-Singapore flights when demand is highest. The airline announced the move after the ASX closed. Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said, “falling demand and rising costs mean the service is no longer viable.” Darwin-based aviation watcher Bruce Dale said switching to the smaller A220 “might not have been enough to save the route.” ABC News
