The Australian Financial Review says Australia’s major airlines are set to suffer from a significant slump in passenger numbers because of Queensland’s flooding crisis.
Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX:QAN) and Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd (ASX:VBA) generate a significant portion of sales from the Queensland leisure market, and the paper says the floods have only intensified already very soft market conditions.
A JPMorgan analyst has told the paper that while it is too soon to gauge how much the floods would impact the airline’s revenues, looking at bookings at the end of the holiday season would provide a better indication.
Qantas Airways generated a net profit of $116 million in the year to 30 June 2010.
