Qantas will no longer require customers to use their unclaimed flight credits by the end of the year, removing the expiry date on the credits following public backlash.
Customers with Qantas flight credits will be able to claim a cash refund at any time, but can only use them to book flights up until the end of the year “due to a system limitation”.
Customers with Jetstar credits, on the other hand, cannot claim a cash refund but can instead use them to book a new flight “indefinitely”.
“Today’s announcement makes Qantas’ COVID credit policy one of the most flexible of any airline in the world, and it follows three prior deadline extensions,” the airline said in a statement.
“Some airlines have already expired their travel credits and many more run out completely at the end of this year.”
Joyce said the decision to remove the expiry date on credits – just days after the deadline was defended by the airline to the Senate hearing – was a result of the airline listening to customers.
“We know the credit system was not as smooth as it should have been,” he said.
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“And, while we’ve improved it recently, and extended the expiry date several times, people lost faith in the process.
“We hope this helps change that.
“We also hope that a lot of people still choose to put their credit towards their next journey.”
The airline currently holds around $500 million in unused flight credits from cancelled flights during the pandemic – around $370 million for Australian Qantas customers, the further $100 million for Jetstar customers Tully revealed on Monday, and around $50 million for overseas Qantas customers.
The previous December 31 expiry date would have seen Qantas claim the value of the unused credits at the end of the year.
