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Qantas will roll out its ‘Classic Plus’ frequent flyer expansion to domestic and regional flights from 12 December, the airline has revealed.
Launched on international earlier in July, there are four times as many ‘Classic Plus’ seats available compared to the original ‘Classic Rewards’ seats. However, Plus seats usually cost more and their ‘prices’ can vary depending on how in-demand they are.
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Qantas revealed that frequent flyers have already redeemed more than 25 billion points on international services, with Tokyo, Singapore and London among the most popular destinations.
“Adding Classic Plus to domestic flights means frequent flyers will have more options to fly where they want, when they want, using their points which we know is an important part of rewarding them for their loyalty,” said the airline’s CEO, Vanessa Hudson.
“Since we introduced Classic Plus to international flights, we have seen frequent flyers book more reward seats than ever before and the number of points earned and redeemed reach record numbers.
“This investment is driving greater member engagement with the program and our partners which is key to the growth and success of Qantas Loyalty.”
Qantas added that, if Classic Plus was available today, current prices would see the routes starting from 9,600 points for Sydney to Gold Coast, 9,700 points for Sydney to Byron Bay, 8,900 points for Melbourne to Launceston and 32,500 points for Melbourne to Perth, for travel during the peak 2025 April school holidays.
“The roll-out of Classic Plus to Qantas domestic and regional destinations will make points even easier to use, especially during peak travel periods when reward seats are often harder to find,” said Andrew Glance, the airline’s head of loyalty.
“Another unique feature about Classic Plus is that frequent flyers can also mix and match Classic and Classic Plus reward seats in one itinerary, delivering even more choice and flexibility when travelling domestically.”
Alongside announcing the date for Classic Plus on domestic, the Flying Kangaroo also revealed on Friday that it would upgrade the economy seats on its older A330s which operate international flights to Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.
The “multimillion-dollar investment” in cabin upgrades will be rolled out across 10 A330-200 aircraft and will include 4K OLED screens for watching movies and new mood lighting.
Australian Aviation reported in January that Glance, formerly executive manager of commercial partnerships, would replace Olivia Wirth as CEO of the loyalty division at the end of February.
Wirth had been considered a contender for CEO of Qantas Group to succeed Alan Joyce before the role ultimately went to then-CFO Hudson.
Hudson praised Glance’s “deep understanding of the loyalty business”, having been part of its leadership team for years.
Virgin and Qantas’ respective loyalty programs have been at war for years, with Virgin last year launching a similar “Switch-a-Roo” scheme to lure the Flying Kangaroo’s frequent flyer customers over to Velocity.
