Senate inquiry wants to hear from frequent flyers who feel ripped off

Furious frequent flyers are being urged to report their complaints to the senate inquiry into aviation this week after The Daily Telegraph revealed how points have lost their value.

Furious frequent flyers are being urged to report their complaints to the senate inquiry into aviation this week after The Daily Telegraph revealed how points have lost their value.

Rod Harrington will be among the first to write in to tell how he and wife Julie saved Qantas frequent flyer points for 10 years for their dream business class return trip to London.

“We had flown business class to Dallas 10 years ago for 256,000 points so we were sure that the 740,000 points we had saved would be enough,” Mr Harrington said from his home at Point Lonsdale in Victoria.

“I was gobsmacked. We could only manage two one way premium economy seats for 545,000 points plus fees and taxes of $1447.32,” he said.

If they had been able to find two Classic Rewards seats instead of points and pay it would have cost 216,800 points plus $666 in fees.

Julie and Rod Harrington from Point Lonsdale were dudded on Qantas points. Picture: Josie Hayden

“On the way back we used our Virgin Velocity Program points and got two business class seats from Frankfurt to Melbourne on Virgin’s partner Singapore Airlines for 286,000 points plus $514.28 in fees and taxes. The difference was incredible,” Mr Harrington said.

“I had wanted to fly Qantas because it is the patriotic thing to do but I feel totally ripped off by what I experienced.”

Inquiry chair Senator Bridget McKenzie urged the hundreds of readers who responded online to the frequent flyer investigation to put their issues in writing before next Monday’s deadline.

“This inquiry will be a great opportunity to prosecute issues in our domestic and international aviation sector, with particular focus on affordability and reliability,” she said.

The inquiry was launched after it emerged Qantas owed customers $170 million more than it originally admitted and The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission sued it for selling almost 10,000 tickets to ghost flights that had already been cancelled.

The couple say they feel ripped off by Qantas. Picture: Josie Hayden

Senator McKenzie broadened the scope after it was revealed the same number of points that would have bought a first class return fare to London in 1996 will now cover the cost of a $1200 De’Longhi Dinamica coffee maker on the Qantas website.

“We all want an aviation sector where price of travel is within reach for everyday Australians, planes take off and land on time, people are safe and bags arrive at the other end,” senator McKenzie said.

“I encourage those who have concerns or strong opinions on these matters to make a submission to the inquiry.”

Points expert Steve Hui, founder of iFLYflat, has welcomed the inquiry into frequent flyer programs and their declining value.

It’s been a period to forget for the flying kangaroo. Picture: Christian Gilles

“If you are looking for Qantas Classic Rewards seats you are not going to find one,” he said.

A Qantas spokesman said the airline was still delivering value for its frequent flyer customers who used 155 billion points last year.

“We know how much members value the ability to use points for flights and demand for them is high. That’s why since international borders reopened we’ve increased reward seat availability on our international network by 50 per cent.

“One in every 11 passengers carried by Qantas flew on a classic reward seat in the past year, and there are currently more than five million available to book across our network.”

“The number of points needed for a classic reward seat hasn’t changed in four years,” he said.

The inquiry will issue its final report on October 9. Submissions can be emailed to [e-mail].

Originally published as Senate inquiry wants to hear from frequent flyers who feel ripped off