The Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) share price is climbing so far this week despite turbulence created by media headlines.
The company's share price has jumped about 0.73% since market close on Friday to the current price of $5.53. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has gained 0.44% in the same time frame.
So what has been going on at Qantas?
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Qantas and REX airlines exchange harsh words
Qantas is performing slightly better than its ASX travel share peers this week. The Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT) share price has lifted 0.34% since market close on Friday while Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) shares have fallen 0.5%.
Qantas has been hitting headlines after competitor Regional Express Holdings Ltd (ASX: REX) cut five regional flights and accused Qantas of "bullying". Rex withdrew flights servicing Bathurst, Grafton, Lismore, Kangaroo Island, and Ballina.
In a statement to the market on Monday, Rex chairman John Sharp said:
Qantas' well-publicised predatory actions on Rex's regional routes have meant that Rex no longer has the ability to cross subsidise these marginal routes.
It is unfortunate that these regional communities are the collateral damage of Qantas' bullying and heartless behaviour.
However, Qantas refuted the claims, describing them as "far fetched", news.com.au reported. Qantas hit back by claiming Rex is not having a problem finding money to invest in more planes for capital city routes. A Qantas spoksperson added:
Rex's claims against Qantas have become so far-fetched, we had to create a dedicated page on our website to rebut them and update it on a fairly regularly basis.
Rex has a monopoly on three of these routes it's abandoning, so if it can't make them work, it has no-one else to blame but itself.
In other news, a Qantas plane reportedly had to make an emergency landing at Sydney airport on Sunday night, Daily Mail reported today. Passengers claimed they were informed they "may not land on the runway" before the plane ended up landing smoothly. However, a Qantas spokesperson said:
Passengers were informed that the aircraft may need to be towed to the gate after landing due to the hydraulic issue. At no point was the aircraft at risk of not landing on the runway.
Qantas share price snapshot
The Qantas share price has surged 17% in the past year while it's gained 10% year to date as borders reopen.
In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned about 1% in a year.
Qantas has a market capitalisation of about $9.6 billion based on its current share price.
