Ultra-long-haul: a new era of Qantas vs Air NZ competition

As international travel reboots, so does the age-old Koru vs Flying Kangaroo rivalry. (Image: Getty)

Tue, 10 May 2022

With passenger numbers rebuilding rapidly as travel restrictions are removed, airlines are busy reorganising and repositioning themselves.Qantas is a prime example. Its CEO, Alan Joyce, is a happy man. The Qantas board has just signed off on the purchase of a dozen Airbus A350 ultra-long-haul aircraft.That’s big. The list price for an A350 indicates a total cost of around US$4.4 billion (NZ$6.93b) for the 12 aircraft, although no doubt a sizeable discount was negotiated.The recovery being seen in travel demand has meant Qantas is confiden...

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