- Qantas Airways (QAN) has said it will offer a range of incentives to people who are vaccinated to help boost vaccination rates in Australia
- CEO Alan Joyce has flagged giving 1000 Qantas points, flight vouchers and credits to help accelerate the nation’s vaccination effort
- Participants will also go in for one of 10 prizes — at least one for each state and territory — with the winners granted unlimited travel for a family of four on the Qantas and Jetstar network
- The airline has said it will require all passengers to be vaccinated when it restarts international flights beyond New Zealand — a policy that has been criticised by the World Travel and Tourism Council as discriminatory
- Qantas is currently selling tickets to destinations like the United States, Britain and Japan from late December, though that could be further postponed, as the Australian government has said borders may remain closed until mid-2022
Qantas Airways (QAN) has said it will offer a range of incentives to people who are vaccinated to help boost vaccination rates in Australia.
CEO Alan Joyce flagged the perks late last week but revealed more details today about the plan, which will be launched in July.
“We are putting in a discount for people who have had the vaccine,” he told Channel Nine.
“We are looking at giving 1000 (Qantas) points, flight vouchers, credits and we are going to offer 10 mega prizes — at least one for each state and territory — where you get, for the year, for a family of four, unlimited travel on the Qantas and Jetstar network, anywhere in the network.”
Joyce said hospitality company Accor would offer a million points to each of the winning families to cover their accommodation as well.
The airline has said it will require all passengers to be vaccinated when it restarts international flights beyond New Zealand — a policy that has been criticised by the World Travel and Tourism Council as discriminatory.
Qantas is currently selling tickets to destinations like the United States, Britain and Japan from late December, though that could be further postponed as the Australian government has said borders may remain closed until mid-2022.
“As a large company that relies on travel to put our people and planes back to work, we’re obviously motivated to help with the national vaccine effort,” Qantas Chief Customer Officer Stephanie Tully said.
United Airlines Holdings said on Monday it would offer vaccinated loyalty program members the chance to win free flights for a year’s worth of travel to anywhere in the world it flies in support of the Biden administration’s efforts to encourage more people to get their COVID-19 vaccination.
While a fresh outbreak in Melbourne has led to a week-long lockdown in Australia’s second most populous state, overall, swift contact tracing, snap lockdowns and strict social distancing rules have helped Australia keep its COVID-19 numbers relatively low, with just over 30,000 cases and 910 deaths.
Recent surveys, however, suggest that Australia’s success at keeping a lid on community transmission has reduced the sense of urgency for people to make sure they are vaccinated as soon as they are eligible.