The Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) share price descended lower today.
Qantas shares dropped 4.03% to $4.52 in today's trade. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) closed 0.15% in the red at 6,591.1 points.
Let's take a look at what is going on with the Qantas share price.
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Cancelled flight route
Qantas shares fell harder than their ASX 200 travel share peers today. The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price fell 2.18%, while Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) dropped 0.96%.
In contrast, US airlines had a good day on Wednesday, with American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ: AAL) leaping 2.78% and United Airlines Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: UAL) jumping 2.43%. Meanwhile, Delta Airlines Inc (NYSE: DAL) jumped 1.85%.
Qantas hit headlines today amid news it will cut its flight route between Alice Springs and Perth in July, the ABC reported. This is reportedly due to low passenger numbers.
In comments quoted by the media outlet, Tourism Australia CEO Danial Rochford described the decision as "not good news". He added:
…what we need from our carrier at the moment is to be backing remote Australia, not pulling out of remote Australia.
Meanwhile, Qantas is planning to lift the mask mandate on some international flights, 9 News reported.
A spokesperson said: "The Qantas Group intends to soon update our onboard mask policy for international flights to align with the rules at the destination."
In other news, it has emerged Qantas will be relying on office workers to work as baggage carriers to cope with the busy winter holiday travel season.
A Qantas spokesperson quoted by Sky News said Qantas is preparing to seek the assistance of office staff at airports during the upcoming school holidays. They added:
As we have done in the past during busy periods, about 200 head office staff helped at airports over Easter undertaking tasks such as handing out water, queue combing and helping in the bag room.
We are preparing to do the same over the July school holidays.
Qantas share price snapshot
The Qantas share price has dumped nearly 4% in the past 12 months, while it has fallen more than 9% year to date.
For perspective, the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has lost nearly 11% in a year.
