A big change is coming to Qantas – and it’s bad news for Australians
Qantas has quietly increased the fees for changing or canceling bookings on domestic flights.
The national carrier will increase the price for changing the flight, name on a booking or canceling a flight from $99 to $119 across a range of fare types from October 9.
The increase affects flight changes for ‘Red eDeal’ economy tickets, name changes and cancellations for economy ‘Flex’ flights’ and all changes and cancellations for premium economy ‘Saver’ tickets.
This includes group tickets, tickets obtained through Qantas Business Rewards and all tickets purchased or issued from October 9 onwards.
Other fare conditions remain the same.
Qantas also revealed that the first change for a domestic flight purchased before October 9 will incur a $99 surcharge even after the change has been implemented.
The airline quietly made its first change since 2017 last Friday, uploading an FAQ with relevant information without announcing it in a statement.
“Qantas continuously monitors its fares, fees and operating costs and has adjusted these… fees as a result,” the FAQ reads.
Qantas has quietly increased the price for changing the flight, name on a booking or canceling from $99 to $119 across a range of fare types from October 9 (stock image)
The change was outlined shortly before Qantas published its annual and sustainability reports on Thursday.
The reports were aimed at improving customer confidence after the airline posted a pre-tax profit of $2.08 billion for the 2023-2024 financial year.
It announced changes to Qantas’ executive compensation framework to make executive bonuses more transparent.
Customer results will also weigh more heavily on annual bonuses, while brand reputation will be introduced as a performance measure for long-term bonuses.
The increase affects changes to the economy tickets ‘Red eDeal’ and ‘Flex’ and premium economy ‘Saver’ tickets issued after October 8 (stock image)
“Qantas has made significant progress over the past 12 months, but we know there is much more to be done to rebuild trust with our customers,” Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said in a statement.
“We have seen strong improvements in on-time performance, customer satisfaction and reputation for both Qantas and Jetstar, and the Group is performing strongly financially.
“It is this financial strength that allows us to continue investing in new aircraft, improving the experience for our customers and our people.
“The board has listened to feedback on the compensation structure for our executives and has implemented a series of changes that we are confident will lead to better outcomes for our stakeholders.”
