SYDNEY, April 15 (Xinhua) -- Virgin Australia said on Wednesday it will reduce flights in the current quarter and flagged increased fares to offset higher jet fuel costs.
In an update to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), Virgin Australia said that its fuel costs in the second half of 2026 are expected to be up to 40 million Australian dollars (about 28.5 million U.S. dollars), higher than previously forecast, as a result of a surge in oil prices driven by the conflict in the Middle East.
"The price of jet fuel has been extremely volatile and has more than doubled since the end of February 2026," it said.
The airline, in which Qatar Airways has a 25 percent stake, said that it would increase fuel hedging in the short term to "mitigate price volatility" and implement other operational levers, including fare and capacity adjustments.
It said that its total domestic capacity would be cut by 1 percent in the current June quarter.
The announcement followed a similar update from the Qantas Group on Tuesday, in which it flagged a hit of up to 800 million AUD (about 570.3 million USD) from higher fuel costs and said that it has reduced domestic capacity by 5 percentage points in the fourth quarter of 2026. ■