The cost of the crisis will be between $100 million and $150 million this half,Qantas said,even after capacity cuts and a lower fuel bill,making it almost twice as damaging as the 2003 SARS outbreak.
Mr Joyce said the airline was"managing all the levers we can"by pulling out aircraft capacity,with the potential to cut even deeper,while also asking staff to take unused annual leave.
Despite the coronavirus headwind and handing down a flat half-year profit on Thursday,Qantas increased its interim dividend by 1.5¢ to 13.5¢ a share and announced a $150 million off-market share buyback.
“We do believe we can pay the dividend and the buyback,take the hit from the coronavirus and still have our debt levels at the lower end of the[targeted] range,"Mr Joyce said.
"Qantas is well positioned to weather the storm".
Earnings fell in Qantas'domestic operations in the first half,down 2.7 per cent,but there were signs of recovery in the three months to December as demand picked up.
However,that recovery had been put on the back foot through January by the summer bushfires,ongoing strike action at Jetstar and now the coronavirus. Mr Joyce said that made it hard to know the actual level of underlying demand for the most profitable part of its business.