With QANTAS and its low cost business Jetstar decreed by its CEO Alan Joyce not to fly internationally until October, the flying kangaroos has said it will be taking its first intentional step and that will be across the ditch to New Zealand of course, when the Kiwi-Aussie travel bubble opens up, with it appears an announcement to be made after Easter.
In the meantime, QANTAS and Jetstar have said they will offer frequent flyers uncapped Classic Flight Reward seats for the first three days of travel when the two-way trans-Tasman bubble opens, with once the start date is confirmed, thousands of seats across all cabins will be available to be booked as Classic Flight Rewards over the 72-hour travel period, plus, customers can also pay for these seats.
QANTAS and Jetstar have said they will be adding significantly more flights between Australia and New Zealand across a number of routes, flying to all its pre-COVID destinations.
QANTAS and Jetstar added that in addition to operating the Points Planes, Qantas Frequent Flyer will also add 50 per cent more Classic Reward seats on Qantas’ trans-Tasman flights for the remainder of the year.
QANTAS Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth said the initiative would reward the program’s Australian and New Zealand members who have continued to build their points balance during the pandemic in anticipation of international travel resuming, adding, “Our members have been stockpiling points during COVID for exactly these opportunities and we want to help make it easier to get on one of the first international flights,” and “That’s why every seat on every Qantas and Jetstar flight for the first three days of the travel bubble opening will be Classic Flight Rewards.”
She also said, “For the remainder of the year, more reward seats will also be available including during peak times like Christmas and school holidays on Qantas’ trans-Tasman flight”, and “Eighty per cent of Qantas Frequent Flyers have said they want to use the points they have been stockpiling on travel, and “This is just one example of how we’ll be making it easier for members to get closer to their next dream trip as borders reopen.”
QANTAS says that Points Planes are the latest in a series of initiatives to reward Frequent Flyers who’ve had limited opportunities to use points on travel over the past 12 months, including: –
More availability and increased availability of Classic Flight Rewards by up to 50 per cent to the most popular destinations across Australia. This helped drive a 2.5 times increase in flight redemptions to record levels when border restrictions started to ease.
Better value on Qantas Hotels: Improved Classic Hotels Rewards giving members more value and choice when they book accommodation with points.
Greater flexibility: Waived change and cancellation fees on Flight Rewards to give members more confidence to book with points.
Status support: Provided a range of support mechanisms to help members retain their tier including status extensions, Status Credit boosts and the ability to earn them on the ground.
Classic Flight Reward seats across the Tasman start from 18,000 Qantas Points with Qantas and 14,400 with Jetstar plus taxes, fees and carrier charges with customers travelling on the Points Planes, or on any Qantas operated flights booked before 30 April 2021 can enjoy added flexibility with unlimited fee free date changes when travelling before 28 February 2022.
An edited report by John Alwyn-Jones
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