FLIGHT SEARCHES

QANTAS has seen searches of its international flights almost triple in the past week after the airline announced its intention to restart overseas travel from December 18.

Data compiled by the Qantas digital team, showed searches surged a whopping 175 per cent, with flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London proving the most popular.

Other flights attracting huge interest included Sydney to Los Angles, Sydney to Singapore and Sydney to Tokyo, with most people looking to get away as soon as borders reopen.

Qantas international chief executive Andrew David said it was clear Australians “could not wait to get back on an aircraft and head overseas

again”. “While it’s up to government to determine exactly how and when our international borders re-open, Australia is on track to meet the 80 per cent vaccination trigger by December, which means international travel is within reach,” he said.

Mr David’s comments came as Qantas boss Alan Joyce kicked-off a “Let’s get on with the jab” conversation series hosted by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle. Mr Joyce said as the national carrier, Qantas “had an obligation to try and lead the national dialogue” through mandating vaccination for its own staff as well as widely promoting the jab.

Qantas recently created an advertisement to encourage people to get vaccinated.

“I think the emotional reaction (to the ad) shows that people do want to see light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

Since the ad was released late last month, more than 300,000 people had uploaded their vaccination certification to the Qantas app, in return for a “reward” of frequent flyer points, status credits or a $20 discount on their next flight.

As a result, Qantas had given away 220 million points.