Australia is a similar size to the United States when it comes to land area, however the population is just 25 million people. This means residents in regional communities are a long distance away from a major city.
Qantas are offering discounted flights to residents in certain cities on flights to their closest capital city which is bound to be welcome as the fares on these routes can be quite high.
Qantas Residents Discounts
There are a number of routes that qualify for the discount. The only conditions are that you must be a resident of the town, it must be a return flight and you must not be travelling for business. All of this is reasonable.
Who Gets A Discount?
Discounts are available in Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Territory. In WA, residents of Broome, Kalgoorlie, Karratha, Paraburdoo, Port Hedland and Newman will receive the discounts on return flights to Perth.
For the Northern Territory, people living in Alice Springs will receive the discount on flights to Darwin. When it comes to Queensland, there are more options.
When I flew from Brisbane to Longreach via Blackall and back, the economy class airfares were eye wateringly steep. Instead, I redeemed my British Airways Avios for the flights, saving a nice wad of cash in the process.
Overall Thoughts
These discounts will make a tangible difference to local residents. All the areas mentioned are a long way from the main centre and often are mining or farming communities, meaning smaller aircraft being used and hence higher fares.
Discounting like this is not really that common in Australia. I think the USA has a far greater range of special fares for all sorts of people, which is interesting.
What do you think of Qantas’ move here? Thank you for reading and if you have any comments or questions, please leave them below.
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Featured image and Fokker 100 image via Qantas.
