In a bid to further boost shareholder returns, Qantas will list its frequent flyer arm on the Australian Securities Exchange in a joint venture with Air Canada. How this will impact the service delivered to its 5 million plus customers is not yet clear.
The Australian reported the carrier intends to list its lucrative frequent flyer arm in a joint venture arrangement with Air Canada’s frequent flyer business Aeroplan.
Air Canada embarked on a similar restructuring process in 2002 when it listed Aeroplan on the Toronto Stock Exchange, doubling its initial C$2 billion market capitalisation since then.
Qantas is hoping for a similarly successful result from its emulation of Air Canada’s strategy. UBS has estimated this portion of Qantas currently generates around $175 million in pre-tax profit, and suggests the frequent flyer business listing cdould boost this to as much as $3.5 billion. The change will also extend across the Qantas-owned budget airline Jetstar.
Changes are also expected to be made to its fleet, with a number of opportunities identified in using depreciation, leasing and refinancing of old aircraft to better leverage its estimated $15 billion of aircraft assets. It currently has 217 aircraft in service, with 154 on the Qantas balance sheet.
Qantas was unable to provide further details on the changes or the impact it would have on its frequent flyer customers. Further details of should be announced on Thursday when it hands down its annual pre-tax profit figures, anticipated to hit a record $1 billion.