Qantas reports cancellations following Bali Bombings
Qantas reports cancellations following 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.