The airline deliberately reduced its margins on international travel as it worked to strike a balance in delivering for shareholders, employees and customers, Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson said Thursday.

"That was a very deliberate investment in the customer to get that balance right," Ms Hudson said.

The reduction in profit was also due to a fall in freight revenue and a $230 million investment to upgrade customer experiences, she said.

Of that, $100 million was spent renovating Qantas' airport lounges, and the airline also spent money on upgrading its food and beverage offerings, digital systems, call centres, and loyalty programs.

"Both Qantas and Jetstar saw significant uplift in satisfaction," Ms Hudson said.

"I speak a lot to customers on planes and in airports, and what I hear and what they say to me is that things feel different, and that is actually a reflection of the incredible work of our people."

But she acknowledged there was more work to be done. Qantas' customer satisfaction score under a widely used survey rose 16 points in the past 13 months, standing at 67 out of 100, she said.

"To give you a reference point, when Qantas had the highest reputation in the country, that score was 80," Ms Hudson.

"Our ambition is to get back to being the best and that pride in the national carrier, and so we feel really confident in the momentum that we've got behind that, but there is still lot more to do, and that is what we're going to focus on this year."