Qantas quietly increases fee for changing and cancelling domestic flights

The national carrier has quietly increased the cost of changing or cancelling domestic flight bookings. See how much it will cost you.

For the first time in seven years, Qantas has quietly increased its fees for changing or cancelling domestic flight bookings.

Starting October 9, the national airline will increase the cost of changing a flight, updating the name on a booking, or cancelling a reservation from $99 to $119 across a range of fare types.

The increase will impact flight changes for ‘Red eDeal’ economy tickets, name changes and cancellations for ‘Flex’ economy flights, as well as all changes and cancellations for ‘Saver’ premium economy tickets.

Qantas quietly made the changes for the first time in seven years. Picture: Getty Images

This change will apply to group tickets, tickets purchased through Qantas Business Rewards, and any tickets bought or issued from October 9 onward.

Other fare conditions will remain the same.

Qantas also announced that any changes to a domestic flight booked before October 9 will still incur the $99 fee, even after the new charges take effect.

The airline made the changes last Friday by uploading a FAQ on their website, without making an official announcement in a statement.

“Qantas continuously monitors its fares, surcharges and operating costs and as a result has made an adjustment to these … fees,” the FAQ reads.

“The last increase to these fees was in March 2017.”

Starting October 9, the national airline will increase the cost of changing a flight, updating the name on a booking, or cancelling a reservation. Picture: NCA NewsWire

However, when Qantas cancels a flight, customers are automatically rebooked on an alternative service and offered the choice of a refund or flight credit.

The changes coincide with the airline’s release of its 2024 Annual and Sustainability reports on Thursday, which emphasised efforts to rebuild customer trust following a $2.08 billion pre-tax profit for the 2023-24 financial year.

“Qantas has made significant progress over the past 12 months, but we know there’s a lot more to do to restore trust with our customers,” Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said in a statement.

Qantas Chair Richard Goyder with CEO Vanessa Hudson. Picture: NCA NewsWire.

“We’ve seen strong improvement in on-time performance, customer satisfaction and reputation for both Qantas and Jetstar, and the Group is performing strong financially.

“It’s this financial strength that means we’re able to continue investing in new aircraft, improving the experience for our customers and our people.

“The board has listened to feedback on the pay structure for our executives and have made a series of changes which we are confident will encourage better outcomes for our stakeholders.”