Qantas auction sparks frequent flyer frenzy

Two used Qantas ‘skybeds’ have fetched an eye-watering price in the airline’s points auction.

Qantas A380 skybeds - two of which have gone for 2 million points at 'auction', the equivalent of $40,000. Picture: Supplied.

Two Qantas A380 skybeds used for crew training since 2008 have “sold” for two million frequent flyer points, or the equivalent of $40,000.

With little flying going on, Qantas came up with the concept of a “points auction” to engage frequent flyers who have continued to amass points from activities like credit card use and grocery shopping.

Five items or experiences have gone up for auction since Monday, with the skybeds attracting the second highest bid to date.

Described as “a priceless piece of Qantas memorabilia” the seats came with an electrical converter to activate the recline function, massage feature and reading light.

The airline disclosed that the in-built video screen would not work outside an aircraft, but said the seats would make the buyer feel they were “permanently in the sky”.

Delivery to one of more than 15 cities or towns was included for the beds, which weigh a considerable 175kg, not including the 60kg timber base.

Other items to go under the hammer in the daylong auctions included a Boeing 787 simulator experience with a Qantas captain which went for 1.2 million points.

A soccer clinic for 20 children with Socceroos coach Graham Arnold attracted a winning bid of 501,000 points and a holiday for four to Queenstown flying in business class “sold” for 3.76 million points.

Friday’s auction item, a private charter flight for 30 people to either Byron Bay, Hamilton Island or Devonport, kicked off with a starting price of 1.2 million points and quickly climbed to 2.2 million.

The success of the initiative was a welcome bright spot for Qantas in an otherwise dismal week during which the airline announced another 2500 workers would be stood down in mid-August.

The domestic pilots, cabin crew and airport workers join 6000 international division employees who have been stood down since March 2020 after borders were closed.

The airline will announce its full year results on August 26, with another loss in the vicinity of $2 billion expected.

On Tuesday, CEO Alan Joyce said Qantas Loyalty, which oversaw the frequent flyer program, continued to “function really well” along with the freight division.

He was optimistic international flying could return in mid-December providing the federal government’s 80 per cent threshold for Covid-19 vaccination was reached.

Qantas was soon expected to announce further details of its incentives for vaccination, including frequent flyer points, travel credits and a “super prize” of unlimited travel for a year.

Mr Joyce said it was becoming apparent that many countries would not accept visitors unless they were vaccinated against Covid-19.

Qantas planned to make a digital travel pass a condition of overseas travel, with the phone app carrying information about the passenger’s vaccination status and Covid test result.

Originally published as Qantas auction sparks frequent flyer frenzy