Qantas raises international fares as fuel shocks continue

Qantas is raising international fares due to rising costs, including “significant increases in jet fuel prices”, resulting from the conflict in the Middle East.

In a statement, the Flying Kangaroo said that cost increases will vary from route to route. Qantas does not operate any of its own services to the Middle East, with its existing Europe flights continuing as scheduled, though Perth-London has added a fuel stop in Singapore.

“We are continuing to closely monitor the impact the conflict in the Middle East is having on the volatility in jet fuel prices, which have risen by up to 150 per cent over the past fortnight. Despite hedging, this is driving up costs across the Group,” the airline said.

According to the national carrier, it has “seen strong bookings in recent weeks” for its Europe services over coming months, and it is working with passengers on partner airlines such as Emirates to facilitate refunds or rebookings.

“Flights on Qantas’ European routes, including Perth-London, Perth-Paris and services via Singapore, are more than 90 per cent full in March, which is approximately 15 percentage points higher than normal for this time of year,” said Qantas.

“Bookings for flights to and from Europe between April and June have also increased in recent weeks on these routes, as well as the Perth-Rome seasonal service which resumes in May.

“More customers have also been choosing to travel to Europe via the United States, other Asian cities and Johannesburg, connecting through Qantas’ partner airline network. We are exploring options to redeploy capacity into Europe on existing routes in the coming months.”

The move by Qantas comes as Air New Zealand suspends its earnings guidance for 2026 due to the volatility in fuel prices, while airlines such as Air India are introducing fuel surcharges.