Qantas plans cheap flights to goose biz

Australian airline Qantas plans to lure back wary travelers with flights as cheap as $12.50 — admitting Wednesday that it wants to pack planes without social distancing in its new coronavirus safety protocols.

The hard-hit airline‘s chief executive, Alan Joyce, announced plans for AU$19 flights between Melbourne and Sydney — equivalent to $12.50 — as part of a push to get back to “40 to 50 percent of pre-COVID-19 operation” by July.

“We have to offer really cheap airfares to get people to overcome their reluctance around COVID-19,” he told 9News’ “Today” show, with current bookings just 5 percent of normal.

His company also revealed a series of new “Fly Well” safety measures to start on June 12, including contactless check-in, sanitizer wipes, extra cleaning and masks handed to every traveler.

But the airline — which previously planned to remove middle seats to maintain space — insists it is not needed because the pressurized cabin along with medical-grade filters keeps travelers safe.

Joyce said that because passengers face the same direction with “a barrier of a seat in front of them” there is “a very low risk of transmission.”

He also claimed that “we don’t know of a single person-to-person transmission on an aircraft” connected to the pandemic that has infected more than 4.9 million people worldwide.

If Qantas had to fulfill even five feet between passengers, it would leave just 22 people onboard an Airbus SE A320 made for 180, the CEO said. “That means airfares are going to be eight to nine times more than they are today,” he said. “It economically will not be justified.”