Points on a Plane: Qantas Invests in Creative FF Perks
The carrier plans to dedicate an entire flight to frequent flyer Qantas Point redemptions as start of new rewards campaign
Qantas is rolling out the first of a series of dedicated Frequent Flyer redemption flights across its network with available only to members redeeming Qantas Points.
The inaugural “Points Plane” will be an Airbus A380 that will fly from Melbourne to Tokyo (NRT) on October 21, 2019 loaded with Qantas Frequent Flyers who will be able to secure their seats starting this Thursday.
Members will be able to book any seat on board (these are: 14 First, 64 Business, 35 Premium Economy and 371 Economy seats) at the standard Qantas Points redemption rates for the route involved no matter whether they are Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum members. All will all have equal opportunity to secure a booking on dedicated Points Plane flights.
To maximize flexibility on return travel, members have the choice of booking on an A330 return Points Plane on October 26th or depart on an alternative date of their choice by booking a Classic Reward seat with Qantas or a partner airline, or using Points Plus Pay on any commercially available seat.
The inaugural Points Plane will differ from regular flights with distinctive inflight services and special on-board experiences, including a bespoke cocktail and meal service, signature loungewear and inflight giveaways.
“This is the first time we have dedicated an entire aircraft – let alone an A380 – to our frequent flyers, and we are expecting to see significant demand for these flights,” said Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth. “Four flight redemptions are made every minute and sixty upgrades are confirmed every hour. We know our members love to redeem their points on travel, so we’re excited to be able to give them new ways to access these rewards. Member-exclusive flights mean more redemption opportunities for our members and less time searching for reward seats. If this concept is a success, which we think it will be, Qantas hopes to operate more regular Frequent Flyer only flights to other international and domestic destinations in the near future.”
Qantas occasionally moves unscheduled aircraft around the network for a range of operational and commercial reasons – creating opportunities for initiatives like Points Planes. Japan is a popular destination for Qantas Frequent Flyers and one of the top 5 most searched destinations on qantas.com making it the perfect first Points Plane port. The concept is one of many Qantas Loyalty is exploring to reward Qantas Frequent Flyer members and provide even more redemption opportunities.
Qantas Points required for booking seats on the inaugural Points Plane flight:
• Economy 35,000 Qantas Points
• Premium Economy 54,000 Qantas Points
• Business 72,000 Qantas Points
• First 108,000 Qantas Points
