Sydney, April 24, 2026, 07:59 AEST
- Qantas and QantasLink beat Virgin Australia’s network on March on-time arrivals and departures, new federal data showed.
- The result landed as Qantas runs a domestic fare sale and works through higher fuel costs and capacity cuts.
- Virgin still led on cancellations, a key measure for passengers trying to avoid disrupted travel.
Qantas Airways Limited’s domestic network again beat Virgin Australia on punctuality in March, giving the flag carrier a timely operating win as Australian airlines fight higher fuel costs and a fresh round of discounting. Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics data released on April 23 showed the Qantas network recorded 81.9% on-time departures and 80.1% on-time arrivals, compared with 78.7% and 77.7% for Virgin Australia’s network.
The result matters now because reliability has become a live commercial issue, not just an operating statistic. Qantas has just put more than 2 million discounted domestic seats on sale, while the broader market is absorbing fuel-driven fare rises and schedule trims.
On-time performance means a flight arrives or departs within 15 minutes of schedule. The ACCC has used that measure in its domestic airline monitoring, and has warned that elevated jet fuel costs could flow through to higher domestic airfares if they persist.
Industry-wide, March was not especially clean. BITRE said all participating airlines averaged 77.0% for on-time arrivals and 78.2% for departures, both below long-term averages, while cancellations rose to 2.7%.
Virgin had one important edge. Its network cancellation rate was 1.8%, below Qantas’ 3.2%, with Australian Aviation reporting that Virgin general manager, integrated operations centre, Danny Norman pointed to a “stable and reliable schedule” as the airline’s focus. Australian Aviation
Qantas is trying to turn better punctuality into a sales point at an awkward time. The company said its week-long sale covers more than 90 domestic and regional routes, with one-way economy fares from A$99 and business fares from A$299, running until 11:59 p.m. AEST on April 28 unless sold out earlier.
Qantas Domestic CEO Markus Svensson said “Australians’ appetite for travel continues” after what he called a bumper Easter holiday period, with more than 1 million customers moving across the airline’s domestic network. Qantas Newsroom
But the pricing push sits against a harder cost backdrop. Qantas said earlier this month that jet fuel prices had more than doubled since its first-half outlook, lifting its second-half fiscal 2026 fuel cost estimate to A$3.1 billion-A$3.3 billion, and it cut fourth-quarter domestic capacity by about 5 percentage points.
The company also delayed the start of a planned A$150 million on-market buyback because of the uncertainty, while saying its A$300 million interim dividend would be paid on April 15. RASK, or revenue per available seat kilometre, was guided higher for both international and domestic operations, assuming demand holds.
The pressure is not confined to Qantas. Reuters reported that airlines globally have raised fares, added fuel surcharges and cut routes since the Iran war disrupted fuel supplies, with Qantas shifting capacity toward stronger Europe demand while trimming domestic flying.
Analysts see the fuel hit as the main swing factor. Johnathan McMenamin, a senior economist at Barrenjoey, told the Guardian that refining margins had surged as Asian refiners struggled with reduced crude supply, adding that “demand is not really adjusting.” UBS analysts estimated Qantas earnings per share would be lower this financial year and next. The Guardian
Virgin is also discounting. The carrier said it had expanded its sale to more than 1.5 million discounted fares across its domestic network, with one-way Economy Lite fares from A$55 for selected travel between July 22, 2026, and March 27, 2027.
The risk for Qantas is that fuel prices, weather and capacity cuts erode the gains from better punctuality. A cheaper fare can fill a seat, but if cancellations rise or fuel stays expensive, the carrier may have less room to keep fares low without squeezing margins.
