JP/15/Qantas

JP/15/Qantas

Qantas Reports Cancellations After Bali Bombings

Richard Noonan Dow Jones/Melbourne

Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. reported travel cancellations on Monday following the deadly bombings at the island resort of Bali, Indonesia, on the weekend.

Qantas, which currently has 11 weekly flights to Bali, said about 650 of its customers had canceled plans to travel to the popular tourist destination after the bombings killed 26 people.

About 330 of those customers are deferring their travel, a spokesman for Qantas said late on Monday.

"Quite a few (customers) at the moment are still choosing Bali, they've just put the time back a bit," the spokesman said.

"So far we've seen very little drop off of our scheduled services to Bali," he said.

The latest bombings in Bali, which come after a series of bombings in Indonesia in recent years, have renewed concerns that travelers may cut back flying.

The aviation industry has been struggling to regain its full health since the terrorist attacks in Manhattan and Washington on Sept 11, 2001. Woeful conditions have been further compounded by the war in Afghanistan, Bali bombings, war in Iraq, SARS and surging oil prices.

Shares in Qantas shares fell as much as 1.2 percent to A$3.33 when trading began on Monday. But the stock recovered some ground to close down just 1 cent at A$3.36 in an overall flat market.

"The market is still of the view that management is still running a very tight operation under pressure from fuel costs," said Patrick Crabb, head of institutional sales at Goldman Sachs JBWere in Melbourne.

Sydney-based Qantas, which carries more than 30 million passengers each year, has committed to four special flights to carry Australians home from Bali. It has promised to give refunds or waivers to travelers with tickets for Bali or other parts of Indonesia.

The Qantas spokesman said it was too early to estimate the financial costs of the special flights or the cancellations. He also declined to comment on any long-term impact the blasts will have on travel demand.

"In the next 48 hours we'll have an idea of any possible impact on demand," he said.

The Australian government has warned travelers to defer nonessential travel to Indonesia and said the possibility of further explosions cannot be ruled out.