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The government is to review all taxpayer-funded flights taken by politicians and civil servants in the country following concerns that defaults on bookings with Qantas have reduced competition in the skies.
Politicians and public officials have long been banned from collecting frequent flyer points, but they do earn points that give them access to airline lounges and upgrades. Qantas’ frequent flyer programme is one of the largest in the world, with more than half the country’s population members.
Transport Minister Catherine King has pledged a review of government bookings by the end of the year by the Treasury as part of the Aviation White Paper released on Monday.
According to travel booking data provided to the government, more than 80 per cent of federal politicians, judges and government departments travelled with Qantas last year, even though the average ticket price was about $280 higher.
Virgin has been lobbying successive governments privately for years to stop favouring Qantas. While Qantas is not always the cheapest airline on any given route, it is often the most regular. It has also outperformed Virgin in terms of punctuality for most of this year. That means public officials and politicians often claim that they have not breached domestic travel policy guidelines, which focus on practicality as much as affordability.
Reports to the Government Aviation Review indicate that some government employees did not book the lowest practical price. The government uses Corporate Travel Management for all employee bookings.
Former Prime Minister and Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has been heavily criticised for being too close to Australia's largest airline, Qantas. credit: Rhett Wyman
The relationship between Qantas and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came under intense scrutiny last year after the King’s decision to reject a request from Qantas’ rival Qatar Airways to double its flights to Australia. Albanese had asked for his adult son Nathan to be allowed into the chairman’s lounge, which is usually reserved for dignitaries.
The King said it was important to emphasise value to taxpayers when booking parliamentary travel.
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