Qantas shares have fallen more than 14 per cent after the airline axed its plans to add more flights, blaming soft demand and confidence.
The airline said Monday that it had revised plans to increase seat capacity in April, May and June because of weak customer demand.
"Some softness in demand, related to the upcoming federal election and recent drop in consumer confidence in Australia, began to emerge over the peak Easter and school holiday period in late March and continued to be seen in forward bookings in April and May," Qantas said in a statement.
To mitigate the negative impact on the group's domestic operations, domestic capacity growth in the fourth quarter will now be negative compared to the same period a year earlier.
Qantas shares fell as much as 14.29 per cent to $3.48 in early morning trade on the Australian stock market. At 1254 AEST, Qantas shares were down 44 cents, or 10.84 per cent, at $3.62 in a lower market.
