More than 70% of Qantas' marketing spend is invested in digital channels, it says, as it looks to drive efficiencies in its marketing.
The airline today reported pre-tax profit of $852 million for the six months up until December 2016. While it reflects a 7.5% drop in profit year-on-year, it is above its projected expectations and Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said in the results update today (23 February) that the airline is one of the best performing in the world.
It says all parts of the Qantas Group were profitable in the second half of calendar 2016, reporting combined domestic earnings across Qantas and Jetstar of $522 million.
He outlined how it is investing in digital and data to improve the customer experience and business performance.
Qantas is seeing efficiencies come from the use of its Red Planet data house and internal digital trading capability.
The airline is nearing the completion of its $2 billion transformation plan and Investing in customer, brand, data and digital is one of six key priorities for the business.
It is set to roll out Wi-Fi on board a number of planes this year and says it will be a “step change” in its customer entertainment offering but also a key addition to its digital ecosystems and its ability to serve personalised content and drive advertising revenue. Earlier this month the nation's airline teamed up with a slew of media partners to offer flyers access to on-demand content including Foxtel's entire catalogue - and even live sport.
It has also improved its mobile apps and website experience across Qantas and Jetstar.
Over the past three years the airline has overhauled its business from the bottom up improving its fleet, service, routes airport lounges and in-flight entertainment as well as a complete refresh of its brand. It has also diversified its loyalty business, which posted record results today, with a b2b offering and its first health insurance offer Qantas Assure.
CEO Alan Joyce says: “This result confirms that Qantas is one of the best performing airline groups in the world.
"The work we’ve done to transform our international business means we are still delivering a much better margin than our main competitors. And that transformation will continue, with more initiatives in the pipeline - including long haul fleet renewal.”
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