Apparently, Qatar Airways is currently not happy with Australia’s overprotecting policy when it comes to opening new routes for foreign airlines.
Qantas Employees Lose Privileges When Traveling With Qatar Airways on ID90s
Airline staff travel is an amazing benefit for those who work in the airline industry. This perk allows employees to travel at a fraction of the fare – up to 90% discount on regular fares. These tickets are called ID tickets which is an abbreviation of “Industrial Discount.” There are different types of these ID fares:
- ID90
- ID80
- ID75
- ID50
The numbers behind ID mean how much discounted the tickets are and the standby ranks. The lower the number the higher the standard rank since you paid more.
Putting the ID90 aside, each airline has a different agreement under the ID policy, and in the case of Qatar Airways and Qantas, since both are members of Oneworld and has an agreement, staffs from both airlines are able to book staff travel.
Moreover, some airlines offer discounted premium class fares as well for their employees such as Lufthansa and Qatar Airways and in this case Qantas and Qatar Airways.
Currently, Qatar Airways is offering Qantas ID privileges where employees can travel on Qatar Airways Business Class based on seat availability. However, this courtesy will be ending next week.
As of September 18, 2023, Qatar Airways will no longer offer Qantas employees discounted Business Class tickets as it will only offer Economy Class tickets. This is quite an unfortunate for Qantas staff as they will lose the chance to fly amazing Business Class products at a deeply-discounted cost.
Why is Qatar Airways Doing This?
One of the biggest reasons for the Doha-based airline to change the agreement is because Qatar Airways’ request to double up the flights into Australian cities was blocked by Australian Transport Minister Catherine King. And behind all this, now-retired former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce was the key person. He admitted that the airline lobbied the Australian government over the issue and asked ministers to reject Qatar’s bid.
Alan Joyce recently had a humiliating exit from Qantas after he was grilled at the senate.
It is not surprising that this initiative ruffled Qatar’s feathers to revenge however, it’s the innocent Qantas employees who have to suffer. Qantas notified its staff via email last week with regards to Qatar Airways’ change of agreement. But even with all the revenge Qatar is taking, the Australian government stands its point that there was nothing out of the ordinary in its decision to deny Qatar’s expansion request.
Summary
Weeks after Qatar Airways was denied from expanding its flights into Australian cities, the Qatari airline restricted its ID airline staff travel agreement for Qantas employees. The restriction prevents Qantas staff from booking ID90 tickets on Qatar Airways Business Class but only on Economy cabins.
Without the premium class, it will be much more uncomfortable for the Qantas employees to travel on long-haul flights as they will be cramped in Economy.
