Qantas quietly raises charges
For the first time in seven years, Qantas has quietly increased its fees for changing or cancelling domestic flight bookings.
Starting October 9, the national airline will increase the cost of changing a flight, updating the name on a booking, or cancelling a reservation from $99 to $119 across a range of fare types.
The increase will impact flight changes for ‘Red edeal’ economy tickets, name changes and cancellations for ‘Flex’ economy flights, as well as all changes and cancellations for ‘Saver’ premium economy tickets.
This change will apply to group tickets, tickets purchased through Qantas Business Rewards, and any tickets bought or issued from October 9 onward.
Other fare conditions will remain the same.
Qantas also announced that any changes to a domestic f l i gh t booked before October 9 will still incur the $99 fee, even after the new charges take effect.
The airline made the changes last Friday by uploading a FAQ on their website, without making an official announcement in a statement.
“Qantas continuously monitors its fares, surcharges and operating costs and as a result has made an adjustment to these … fees,” the FAQ reads.
“The last increase to these fees was in March 2017.”
However, when Qantas cancels a flight, customers are automatically rebooked on an alternative service and offered the choice of a refund or flight credit.
The changes coincide with the airline’s release of its 2024 Annual and Sustainability reports, which emphasised efforts to rebuild customer trust.
“Qantas has made significant progress over the past 12 months, but we know there’s a lot more to do to restore trust with our customers,” Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said.