Qantas offers fare advantage for regional residents

Qantas has revealed plans to invest up to $10 million each year to discount flights for residents in 16 towns across Queensland, Northern Territory and Western Australia. Currently, Qantas provides residents flying between their home town and the nearest capital city with discounts of at least 20-30 per cent. It says bigger discounts will now apply to fares booked during busy periods and at the last minute, so the maximum residents will pay will be about $400 per sector when booking return journeys. The initial rollout of the program expansion will happen immediately in Mount Isa, Cloncurry, Longreach, Barcaldine, Blackall, Karratha and Kalgoorlie. Regional airports and councils in these towns have committed to reducing the fees they charge each passenger, which are built into airfares. Qantas said it was consulting with local airports and councils in the other towns in the program: Moranbah, Roma, Charleville, Broome, Port Hedland, Newman, Paraburdoo, Alice Springs and Yulara (Ayers Rock). Traeger MP Robbie Katter said Qantas’s new discount measure was a welcome reprieve but didn't go far enough to fix long-term structural problems. “I am very pleased to hear of Qantas’ new efforts to address the chronic pricing problems we have on rural air routes, particularly in North West Queensland,” he said. “It should be noted that both levels of government have played no role in this - this is a welcome market response to community outcry and it is the community that has done all the heavy lifting here. Traeger MP Robbie Katter. “The Federal Senate Inquiry into Rural Airfares was as effective as slapping the airlines over the head with a piece of wet lettuce, but at least that was better than what the State Government has done – which has been provide a cheer squad for the airlines.” Mr Katter said while the discount was a step in the right direction as it addressed immediate pricing concerns for locals, it did little to address the systemic issues in the long-term on the rural air routes which hampered liveability, tourism and investment in rural economies. It also ignored Mount Isa’s social, political and economic connectedness to the capital of the North, Townsville, and Cairns as fares to these centres would remain as is. The Qantas announcement comes after the Regional Express (Rex) airline last month promoted its Rex Community Fare scheme to make flights cheaper for 23 Queensland communities. (More HERE) Qantas Domestic chief executive officer Andrew David said the national carrier was responding to direct feedback from residents in regional Australia about accessing more affordable air travel. “We have been out to visit regional communities to listen to their concerns and those raised through the Senate Inquiry into regional airfares, and we are responding,” Mr David said. “The existing discount program is proving to be extremely popular but some residents have told us that when they need to travel during peak travel periods or at the last minute, for things like funerals or urgent medical appointments, they end up booking our highest fares and paying more or they don’t travel. That’s why we are introducing bigger discounts to these bookings. “The maximum residents in these towns will pay is around $400 per sector, or around $800 return. “There are some fundamental realities about the costs of operating regional services that we can’t change, particularly to remote parts of the country, but we are making this commitment and investment to assist residents in these towns.” Mr David said more than 20,000 return trips had been booked using the resident fare discounts since 2017, but many locals were not using the dedicated resident fare website and wound up paying more than they should. “We’d like to see more residents take advantage of the savings which apply to every seat on every flight to the nearest capital city. Booking through our dedicated resident fare website is the only way to get special fares for locals, including the extra savings we are now making available,” he said. The website is here: qantas.com/residentfares

Qantas offers fare advantage for regional residents

Industry Queensland

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