There’s nothing like accruing status credits on someone else’s dime.

How else can one explain the extraordinary dominance of Qantas in securing bookings by parliamentarians and their staff? Sure, the bosses get into the Chairman’s Lounge, but the grunts don’t. Former finance minister Lindsay Tanner may have abolished the parliamentary accrual of frequent flyer points, but lifetime status credits are still up for grabs, accrued on every dreary flight flown to Canberra and back.