Jake Nelson

The Flying Kangaroo saw a $1.29 billion statutory profit after tax for 2025–26, down $316 million on the previous financial year, with mitigation actions undertaken in response to the conflict reducing the impact of a $610 million increase in Qantas’ fuel costs.

Graham Wild, aviation coordinator at ADFA and UNSW, came to the conclusion after analysing annual data for Australian commercial air transport from the ATSB between 2003 and 2025. It comes after a recent high-profile string of four incidents at Sydney Airport.

The charter, ACMI, and FIFO operator said the statutory loss reflects “non-cash impairment and asset write-downs” primarily associated with its Fokker fleet. Alliance has also announced a $40 million equity raising following media speculation earlier in the week.

The initiative, which aligns with the 2026 National Defence Strategy to “enhance energy security and operational readiness”, has seen all ADF aviation and land assets certified to operate on low-carbon fuels, with certification of maritime platforms “nearing completion”.

In a report from S&P Global Ratings, data from 22 airlines in the region including Qantas and Air New Zealand, which all together account for around 85 per cent of Asia-Pacific market capitalisation, showed “close to 5,700 aircraft on order and over US$300 billion in capital commitments”.

The low-cost carrier’s inaugural Colombo flight, JQ5, took off from Melbourne just after 12:30pm on Tuesday aboard the 787-8 Dreamliner VH-VKA. Jetstar is the first Australian airline to operate the route, and will compete with SriLankan Airlines.