Qantas Group takes steps to ease fleet and workforce bottlenecks – part one

Like many airlines around the world, Qantas is facing multiple frustrating growth constraints that are preventing it from taking full advantage of the strong rebound in demand. The airline is attempting to address some of these headaches with new fleet and training investments.

The likelihood of further narrowbody aircraft delivery delays has prompted Qantas to tap into the used aircraft market for short term narrowbody capacity, and it plans to wet-lease more regional jets. Rebuilding the widebody fleet has also been slowed by the need for lengthy maintenance checks as aircraft come out of storage, and by delayed deliveries.

Qantas has launched a recruitment drive aimed at boosting staff numbers to match its capacity growth plans. However, a tight labour market and training bottlenecks complicate these efforts. The airline is also looking to improve its training pipelines, partly by establishing its own engineering academy. This will help it meet its longer term hiring goals.

Part one of this analysis will examine the fleet aspects, and part two the workforce moves.