Qantas Airways (ASX:QAN) said it expects to hire 8,500 staff over the next decade as the airline industry "moves from recovery to growth".
Australia’s flag carrier, which last year asked senior executives to work as baggage handlers due to the acute labour shortage in the country, pledged to create new high-skill jobs in roles ranging from pilots, engineers and cabin crew to airport staff.
This follows the orders it made last year for 12 next-generation widebody Airbus A350s aircraft and up to 299 narrowbody aeroplanes for delivery over the decade, which it said would "reshape" the group.
Last week, Qantas said it was leasing more aircraft in the next two years to help restore capacity faster and meet strong demand from leisure travel, resources and domestic freight markets.
Elsewhere in the industry, rival Lufthansa today reported an "unprecedented financial turnaround", swinging back to operating profits of €1.5bn last year, having doubled passenger numbers to 100mln and nearly doubling revenues to €32.8bn.
Reporting high demand for air travel in 2023, the German carrier said it would invest “billions” in new fuel-efficient and state-of-the-art aircraft.