Qantas trims domestic expansion as election dents demand

Sydney

QANTAS Airways Ltd, Australia's largest carrier, cut its planned domestic capacity expansion for the second half of its financial year as the prospect of a federal election and a drop in consumer confidence weighed on demand.

Expected capacity additions in the six months to June 30 will be 0.5 per cent to one per cent compared with a 2 per cent forecast in February, the Sydney-based airline said in a statement to the stock exchange on Monday. This month, the carrier removed three US services and redeployed planes to fly to Hong Kong and Singapore, it said.