Qantas warns of loss

SYDNEY: Australia's Qantas Airways is set to post its first annual net loss since it was privatised in 1995, blaming deep losses at its international operations, weak travel demand and soaring fuel costs, sending its shares to a record low.

The forecast comes two weeks after Qantas unveiled a plan to separate its bleeding international business from its profitable domestic unit, and follows a bruising 12 months wrangling with unions that led to the grounding of its fleet for nearly two days last year.