Background: Qantas is Australia's national carrier and one of the world's oldest airlines. It's been operating since waaay back in 1920. Fun fact: Qantas originally stood for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services...which makes its latest announcement a little ironic.

What happened: Qantas and its budget airline sibling Jetstar have announced cuts to several routes, including flights to Darwin and Alice Springs, as well as some routes between Queensland and New Zealand. The airlines say a fall in demand has made these routes harder to sustain financially.

What else: Rising operating costs also factored into the decision to cut routes. Those cost pressures come from higher passenger movement taxes from the Federal Government... and rising security expenses. It's an example of what can happen when the economics of a route tip over into becoming unviable

What's the key learning?

💡 For many airlines, continuing to operate a flight route comes down to a business case. Airlines typically need to fill around 70% of seats just to break even. When that fails, the route disappears.    

💡 Every route needs to generate enough revenue to cover a long list of costs. That includes fuel, crew wages, landing fees, maintenance, and government charges. As those costs rise, the pressure to keep routes profitable rises too.  

💡 According to Airlines for Australia, rising operating costs are reshaping route economics across the sector, and with carriers like Virgin Australia also cutting routes, direct flights may become more of a luxury than a given.