From the CEO

Australia has done a magnificent job managing COVID-19 so far. In contrast to most countries, we’ve had relatively few cases. And with the exception of challenging lockdowns in Melbourne and other cities, everyday life seems fairly close to normal.

But the biggest challenge is still ahead of us. Or to use an aviation analogy, we’re now preparing to land, which, as any pilot will tell you, is the most important part of any flight. The vaccine is central to ensuring we touch down smoothly. It’s essential to getting our international borders open so we can reconnect with family and friends, colleagues and customers. Closer to home, a largely vaccinated population should mean an end to snap lockdowns and state border closures.

Opening borders and keeping them open is key to Qantas’s recovery. And we agree that it has to be done safely. That’s why we want to recognise Australians who are fully vaccinated before the end of 2021 by providing things like Qantas Points or flight credits. We’ll also have major prizes in each state and territory, offering unlimited flights for a year to a family of up to four. We’ll be rolling out more detail on this soon and it’ll apply retrospectively to those who’ve already had their jabs.

In total, this is likely to be the biggest giveaway Qantas has ever done, which shows you just how important we think it is.

We know getting vaccinated is important to our customers, too. In a recent survey of more than 3000 Frequent Flyers, we found 86 per cent of respondents had either had the vaccine or will have it as soon as they’re eligible. Importantly, almost 90 per cent said they thought it was important that everybody on an international flight had been vaccinated.

This is a Team Australia moment. Hopefully our decision to recognise people who are vaccinated will inspire other organisations to think about how they can support the country’s vaccination program. We all need to do what we can to help make the rollout a success and get to our destination safely.