Qantas reveals how to achieve new green tier for frequent flyers

Booking eco hotels and walking to work will help Qantas frequent flyers achieve ‘green’ status and access exclusive deals as the airline chases its net zero goal.

Qantas’s frequent flyer program is going green with the addition of a new status “tier” for members who make environmentally friendly choices at home and in the air.

In a world first innovation designed to help steer the airline towards its goal of net zero emissions by 2050, frequent flyers will need to meet a range of sustainability targets to attain “green status”.

Qantas Group CEO Alan Joyce said the initiative was about recognising the airline’s social responsibility to use its influence for good.

“That will mean doing things like offsetting their flights, staying in eco hotels, walking to work, having an electrical car, installing solar panels, and supporting some environment initiatives, like supporting the Great Barrier Reef and making sure that survives into the future,” said Mr Joyce.

Those who do arise to the “green tier” can expect bonus Qantas points, rewards of their choosing, and access to exclusive events.

As part of the scheme, frequent flyers will also be encouraged to offset the carbon emissions of their home and car as well as their flights.

A calculator on the Qantas frequent flyer website will help estimate “lifestyle” emissions and let members offset them for a year at a time.

Installing solar panels will help Qantas frequent flyers obtain “green status” when a new tier is added to the airline’s popular loyalty program next year.

It’s expected the average annual cost to offset home energy for a family of four with two cars would be about $200, with frequent flyers able to use points to pay for those offsets.

Mr Joyce said given the popularity of the carbon offsetting scheme for flights, he hoped frequent flyers would embrace the opportunity to neutralise their on-ground emissions.

“By offsetting, our members can contribute to help support what are high quality carbon offsetting programs in Australia and around the world,” he said.

“They include restoring land ecosystems, reforestation projects, indigenous land management and the development of wind farms in developing countries.”

He insisted the new direction for the loyalty program was not about boosting the airline’s bottom line, which was ravaged by the Covid pandemic.

Rather it was about working together to build a sustainable future, he said.

“It will help increase the scale of our offsetting program and engage our members in what is a fundamental issue that we all need to work on,” Mr Joyce said.

“All good companies should be doing the same thing.”

With more than 13 million members, Qantas frequent flyers was Australia’s largest loyalty scheme and one of the most successful airline programs in world.

Mr Joyce said they knew that frequent flyer points had the power to influence behaviour.

“This isn’t the first time we’ve used points to reward members for taking positive action in their own lives,” said Mr Joyce.

“We can see that in the wellness app we have where people are encouraged to walk and have longer sleep and it does make a difference. We’ve also seen that in our incentives to get people vaccinated, there was a massive uptake of that incentive.”

The green tier would be officially added next year sitting alongside other frequent flyer status levels, including bronze, silver, gold, platinum and platinum one.

Editor of independent website ExecutiveTraveller.com, David Flynn said it was a clever strategy by Qantas to incentivise green-friendly behaviour.

“Qantas has become very savvy at shaping consumer behaviour by encouraging frequent flyers to earn points on the ground, especially during the pandemic, so this is a logical green-tinged extension of that,” said Mr Flynn.

The move comes as the airline industry embraces environmental sustainability, with Lufthansa also working on a green rewards scheme.

A world-first analysis of airlines’ green credentials by Envest Global and CAPA Centre for Aviation, ranked Qantas mid-pack in terms of annual emissions.

The report found that simply by reducing the global average fleet age by one year, carbon emissions could be reduced by 40 million tonnes or 4.5 per cent.

Qantas is expected to announce what aircraft will replace its domestic fleet of mostly Boeing 737s next month, with the 737 Max 8 and A320neo considered the frontrunners.

Originally published as Qantas reveals how to achieve new green tier for frequent flyers