Australian politicians almost always choose to fly Qantas on taxpayer-funded trips, despite Virgin offering cheaper tickets.
Federal MPs flew 80 percent of business trips on the national carrier last year, despite it not always being the cheapest route, according to travel data provided to the government.
While politicians and their staff are obliged to book the cheapest flight, it must also be the most efficient, with Qantas offering the most routes between major cities.
MPs are banned from collecting frequent flyer points on taxpayer-funded trips, as ordinary Australians can, but can receive lifetime status credits, which give access to airport lounges and flight upgrades.
“How else can you explain Qantas’s extraordinary dominance in securing bookings by MPs and their staff?” Myriam Robin wrote in an opinion piece for the Australian Financial Statement.
“There’s nothing like building status credits on someone else’s dime.”
Transport Minister Catherine King has since committed to a review of flight bookings by government officials, to be carried out by the Treasury this year, despite there being only two months to go until 2024.
Politicians’ preference for Qantas can also be attributed to the airline’s exclusive ‘Chairman’s Lounge’, which is only open to invited guests.
Australian politicians almost always choose to fly Qantas on taxpayer-funded trips, despite Virgin offering cheaper tickets. (pictured is Anthony Albanese, with former Qantas boss Alan Joyce and fiancée Jodie Haydon)
Daily Mail Australia revealed in August that almost every federal politician in the country had accepted the club’s free membership.
Qantas and the Albanian government have both denied that the airline has any disproportionate influence over the country’s political classes.
A Daily Mail Australia audit of members’ registers of interests – in both the House of Representatives and the Senate – found that almost 93 per cent of the country’s leaders have been awarded ‘gifted’ membership of the lavish, all-encompassing lounge.
High-ranking government officials include Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and all members of his 22-member Cabinet, his seven-member Foreign Ministry and all 12 assistant ministers.
While most politicians described their Qantas privileges as a ‘gift’, Labor MP Marion Scrymgour referred to her membership as her ‘Chairman Lounge right’.
Daily Mail Australia revealed in August that almost every federal politician in the country had accepted free membership to Qantas’ exclusive Chairman’s Lounge.
And it’s not just politicians who are taking action, as more than sixty MPs – including Marles, Chalmers, King, Bill Shorten, Zali Steggall and Tanya Plibersek – announced that their spouses have also been given unfettered, independent access to the luxurious lounge for members of Qantas.
Often touted as ‘the most exclusive club in the country’, membership of the Chairman’s Lounge has long been shrouded in secrecy.
Even the entrances to each of the country’s six lavish VIP clubs – in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth airports – are suitably discreet.
But once inside, the designer lounges are immediately flashier, with complimentary a la carte fine dining, table service, a decadent selection of wines and champagne and a discreet army of dedicated lounge attendants.
Membership of the club is ‘invaluable’; it cannot be purchased for any amount of money nor can it be obtained through a certain number of frequent flyer points.
Instead, each member is hand-picked and approved by the company’s CEO and chairman.