Australia's Qantas Airways said on Thursday it plans to make changes to some international flight schedules to manage the effects of higher oil prices.
Among the changes, Qantas said it would withdraw some services to Japan, while some routes in Southeast Asia would also be affected. The move follows last week's decision by Qantas to overhaul its domestic services.
A thrice-weekly service from Melbourne to Tokyo will be withdrawn from September, though Qantas will add a new five-times per week Gold Coast-to-Tokyo service to be operated by its budget carrier Jetstar.
Chief Executive Geoff Dixon said Qantas would lose more than AUD$100 million under its existing Japan schedule at current fuel prices.
Qantas also plans to cut its 747-400 Sydney-Los Angeles services to 15 from 17 per week and close its pilot base in Cairns, forcing some 40 Cairns-based pilots to return to Sydney and other bases, Dixon said in a statement.
Qantas said there would be a small number of job losses resulting from the changes.
Airline industry worldwide has been hurt by rising crude oil prices, which jumped to a record USD$135.09 last month. Late last month, Qantas and Air New Zealand both reduced seat capacity.
Qantas has also raised its fares twice since late April to partially offset the fuel burden.
