Qantas expects airfares to rise if oil price stays high due to Ukraine war

Qantas Airways Ltd expects airfares will need to rise to cover the cost of higher fuel prices as its oil hedging contracts expire, its chief executive said on Tuesday.

Qantas has hedged 90% of its fuel needs through the end of June and 50% in the following quarter, Chief Executive Alan Joyce said.

“(Hedging) gives us time to react to that higher fuel price,” he said at a conference hosted by The Australian Financial Review. “If we stay at these levels, airfares are going to have to go up.”

Oil prices, which touched 14-year highs on Monday, see-sawed on Tuesday as the United States considered acting alone to ban Russian oil imports rather than teaming up with allies in Europe.