The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price is in the red on Friday.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) airline stock closed yesterday trading for $6.32. Shares are currently changing hands for $6.26 apiece, down 1%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is selling off today as well, down 0.8% at this same time.
The Qantas share price is dipping amid some mixed news on the airline group’s reliability.
What’s happening with flight cancellations?
The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) May report on monthly airline statistics paints a somewhat mixed picture for the Qantas share price.
The report covers Jetstar, Qantas, QantasLink, Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX), Skytrans, Virgin Australia and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines.
On the positive side, the Qantas network, which comprises the combined operations of Qantas and QantasLink, scored highest for both on time arrivals and on time departures.
Qantas planes arrived on time 76.2% of the time. They departed on schedule 75.5% of the time.
However, the BITRE report revealed that Jetstar once again trailed all its rivals for reliability.
Should that persist, it could drag on the Qantas share price over time.
According to the Jetstar website:
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Qantas Group, Jetstar Airways forms an integral part of the Qantas Group’s two-brand strategy, operating in the leisure and value-based market.
In May only 64.6% of Jetstar planes touched down on the tarmac on time. And only 62.4% took off as scheduled.
Jetstar also recorded the highest percentage of cancellations in May, with 4.2% of flights scrapped.
Bad as these figures are, they’re up from prior months. A fact that Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said indicates the Qantas subsidiary is starting to see some results from its performance initiatives.
According to Tully (quoted by The Australian Financial Review):
It’s really pleasing to see some of the initiatives we’ve introduced are starting to deliver results… Everyone across Jetstar is committed to getting the airline to its best and ensuring customers have a great travel experience with us over the holidays.
Qantas share price snapshot
Despite today’s dip, the Qantas share price has been a strong outperformer over the past 12 months, up 38%.
