Qantas eyes sweeteners to help Covid-19 vaccine rates take off

Qantas is looking at offering flight vouchers, points or credits to try and boost Covid-19 jab rates and has encouraged other companies to do the same.

Qantas wants to incentivise more Australians to get Covid-19 vaccinations. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Qantas will become the first Australian company to offer incentives for vaccination against Covid-19, to try to boost jab rates in the hope that will lead to international borders reopening.

Although the details of a potential incentive are still being finalised, it’s expected to take the form of a flight voucher, frequent flyer points or status credits.

Anyone who has had the full Covid-19 vaccination will be eligible with the initiative likely to run until the end of the year.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly recently raised the need for incentives to lift flagging vaccination rates in Australia.

Since late February, about 3.9 million doses of vaccine have been administered in Australia compared to 60 million in the UK and 288 million in the US.

In other countries, companies and governments have offered their citizens a range of sweeteners to get vaccinated, from free bread in Israel to lottery tickets, marijuana and Uber rides in the US.

Serbian residents were offered a $40 cash payment from their government, while Chinese retailers have promised everything from free dumplings to fresh vegetables as a reward for taking the jab.

Qantas chief customer officer Steph Tully said there were a lot of good reasons to get the Covid vaccine, and they were happy to add another one to the list.

“As a large company that relies on travel to put our people and planes back to work, we’re obviously motivated to help with the national vaccine effort,” Ms Tully said. “Hopefully other companies are looking at incentive options as well.” She said Qantas was still thinking through what the incentive program would look like with a variety of options on the table.

“It could be Qantas points, Qantas or Jetstar flight vouchers or status credits for frequent flyers,” said Ms Tully.

“Qantas is a big supporter of Australia’s vaccine rollout because of what it means for public health, but also because it’s the key to keeping our domestic borders open and safely restarting international travel as well.”

Qantas Group chief executive Alan Joyce has previously said the airline’s international flights to places other than New Zealand, would make vaccination a condition of travel. The carrier is now targeting a December 17 resumption date for most of its international services, after originally planning to have long-haul flights back in the air in July.

Among those lobbying for incentives for vaccination was Corporate Travel Management founder Jamie Pherous who warned Australia was already losing business contracts as a result of uncertainty around international borders. He said Australia had done a sterling job of managing Covid-19 but faced “finishing last” if vaccination rates did not lift.

“It’s very clear overseas if you’re fully vaccinated you can travel. That for me is a big enough incentive. But for those who can’t see the light, vouchers might be the way forward for certain people,” said Mr Pherous.

Originally published as Qantas eyes sweeteners to help Covid-19 vaccine rates take off