QANTAS Airways made this announcement:

• Direct apology is being sent to millions of Frequent Flyers
• Operational performance improving, with plan in place to bring Qantas ‘back to its best’
• Frequent Flyers offered $50 towards a return flight from Australia or New Zealand
• 12 month extension of status for Silver Frequent Flyers and above
• Up to 50 per cent increase to Classic Reward seat availability extended; first release of additional seats from midday Monday

Qantas is reaching out to millions of its customers to formally apologise for recent operational challenges and thank them for their patience as the national carrier works to get back to its best after COVID.

The airline is rolling out a range of initiatives to improve mishandled bags and on time performance as it also deals with high levels of sick leave (due to flu, COVID and isolation requirements) as well as an industry-wide labour shortage.

Qantas has hired 1,500 new people since April with more to come, adjusted flight schedules and invested $15 million in new technology at key airports to help smooth the travel experience.

Speaking directly to Frequent Flyers via an email and video message being sent on Monday, Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce acknowledged while it was great to see people back on-board after so long on the ground, the return to flying hasn’t all gone smoothly.

“Over the past few months, too many of you have had flights delayed, flights cancelled and bags misplaced. There are good reasons why, but when it comes to what you expect from Qantas, it’s not good enough.

“On behalf of the national carrier, I want to apologise and assure you that we’re working hard to get back to our best.

“We’re already seeing a sustained improvement in baggage handling and on-time performance, and while factors out of our control like weather can have an impact on our schedule, we expect things to keep improving each week.

“As well as saying sorry, we also want to say thank you. We’re investing in a range of initiatives including status extensions for Frequent Flyers Silver and above, thousands of Qantas Points and lounge passes. All our Frequent Flyers in Australia and New Zealand will be offered $50 towards a return Qantas flight, which equates to many millions in discounts,” added Mr Joyce.

Qantas will also extend its commitment of up to 50 per cent more Classic Reward seat availability through to 30 June 2023 with the first tranche of additional seats released from 12pm Monday across international and domestic flights. Reward seats are booked using Qantas Points.

Qantas first announced its commitment to increasing Classic Reward seats in October last year. Since then, Frequent Flyers have redeemed more than 80 billion Qantas Points, with one in every 11 passengers carried by Qantas flying a reward seat.

Summary of bonus benefits

Status extension:

12 months status extension across tiered members Silver and above to continue to enjoy the benefits associated with their tier for another year.

Flight discount offer:

$50 off flight promo code for Australian and New Zealand-based Qantas Frequent Flyer members to redeem towards a return Qantas flight.

Classic Reward availability extension:

Extension of previously announced commitment of up to 50 per cent more reward seat availability on Qantas International, trans-Tasman and popular domestic routes until 30 June 2023 being released progressively from 12 noon Monday.

Qantas Lounge invitations:

Additional invitation for members to use themselves, or offer to a Frequent Flyer friend, colleague or family member, to enjoy a pre-flight visit with them to a Qantas Lounge. For Gold members, an invitation to visit a Qantas Domestic Business Lounge, or for Silver members, an invitation to visit the Qantas Club or an international Business Lounge.

Qantas Points:

A gift of Qantas Points for Platinum and Platinum One members.

An email will be sent to Qantas Frequent Flyers from Monday with details on the offers along with a video message from Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce with a direct apology to customers for the airline’s recent performance issues.