Perhaps it’s a coincidence, perhaps not.
But as of September 18, Qantas staff can no longer take advantage of a Qatar Airways discount perk after the Middle Eastern carrier dumped it.
An email was reportedly sent to Qantas staff last week stating that Qatar Airways will no longer offer discounted business class upgrades to the airline’s staff members for personal travel, including Jetstar — also owned by Qantas Group.
According to the Australian Financial Review, Qantas alerted workers the scheme has been rescinded and as of September 18, will revert to the standard Oneworld reciprocal agreement that all airlines in that alliance offer each other.
In other words, they will have to pay the full-fee for the airline’s award-winning business class.
It comes after the government denied Qatar Airways’ application to expand its network in Australia – which Qantas made a submission opposing — after the airline seeked to operate an extra 28 flights a week, amounting to one additional flight a day into Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
The government’s decision has been slammed as a move to protect Qantas from competition, with the relationship between the Prime Minister and outgoing Qantas boss Alan Joyce also coming under fire.
In August, Mr Joyce was hauled in front of a Senate inquiry where he was grilled on whether he had discussed Qatar’s proposal with Anthony Albanese or Transport Minister Catherine King.
But Mr Joyce said he would never divulge a discussion he had with any Prime Minister.
“I’ve said any conversations I have with the Prime Minister or Minister, I never divulge,” he said.
“I’ve kept that for all seven Prime Ministers either way and I have no intent on changing my approach to divulging conversations that take place.”
During the inquiry, Mr Joyce, however, confirmed that Qantas had sent a letter to the federal government in October 2022 about the proposal from Qatar, claiming that allowing the Doha-based carrier to have extra flights would distort the air travel market.
The Coalition has since questioned whether the decision was made to shore up Qantas’ market position and have claimed the additional competition would have cut flight prices.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton previously accused the Prime Minister of striking a secret “sweetheart deal” with Mr Joyce following Qatar Airways’ expansion request.
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“It’s inflationary and it’s unfair to a lot of Australians who might have worked hard … to travel overseas,” Mr Dutton said last week. “Under [this deal] they will pay thousands more for airfares.”
He expressed his support for the Middle Eastern airline, saying he wants “more capacity in the system” and more inbound tourism.
“There will be a lot more questions for the government on the deal in the coming weeks,” Mr Dutton added.
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