Five years ago, it is fair to say that things were looking very dire for Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) and its shares.

With the COVID pandemic closing international and domestic borders, the airline likely had more planes on the ground than in the air.

At that point, it was aiming to reduce its net cash burn rate to $40 million per week and had raised $1.6 billion against a number of its Boeing 787-9 aircrafts to keep the lights on.

As you might have expected, Qantas shares were down in the dumps and a large number of investors wouldn't come near them with a barge pole.

As a result, they were trading at a lowly $3.60 this time five years ago. This means that with a $10,000 investment (and an extra 80 cents for good measure), you could have picked up 2,778 Qantas shares if you were brave enough.

Was this a good idea? You bet it was.

$10,000 invested in Qantas shares five years ago

As mentioned above, five years ago a $10,000 investment would have secured you 2,778 shares in the Flying Kangaroo.

With Qantas now printing money and reporting record profits, brave investors have achieved a stunning return on their investment.

Last week, Qantas shares peaked at a record high of $10.43 before closing the week at $10.23.

This means that those 2,778 shares now have a market value of $28,974.54. That's a return of $18,974.54 or almost 190%.

As a comparison, the ASX 200 index has posted a gain of 52% over the same period.

Don't forget the dividends

Earlier this year, Qantas declared its first interim dividend since 2019 with its half year results.

The airline declared a fully franked dividend of 26.4 cents per share. Based on its share price from five years ago, this represents a stunning yield on cost of 7.3% and dividend income of approximately $730. And there's still a final dividend coming in August!

This means that a $10,000 investment five years ago has delivered a total return of $19,704.54 or just under 200%.

Can its shares keep rising?

While most brokers believe that Qantas shares are fully valued now, one still sees scope for further gains.

That broker is Morgan Stanley, which has an overweight rating and $11.50 price target on them. This implies potential upside of 12% over the next 12 months.