Surf lifesavers team up with Qantas as brand rebuild focuses on strong safety record

Qantas is hoping Surf Life Saving Australia can rescue its battered brand with a new four-year partnership.

Qantas is hitching its battered brand to one of the country’s most iconic and highly trusted volunteer organisations as chief executive Vanessa Hudson strives to reshape the airline’s image.

In a “monumental partnership”, Qantas will team up with Surf Life Saving Australia for the next four years to promote water safety by encouraging frequent flyers to apply for a “beach passport” in return for 150 points, and go into a draw for 1 million points.

The 10-minute online tutorial is intended to equip users with basic water safety knowledge, including an understanding of the various flags and signs used at beaches, at beachpassport.org.au.

In the year to June 30, 2024, 150 people drowned at coastal locations including beaches, the ocean and coastal rock pools, up 26 per cent on the long term average.

The majority of deaths occurred in the summer months, and men aged between 40 and 49 were the most at risk of drowning, according to the Royal Lifesaving Society.

Qantas described the partnership with SLSA as bringing together “two like-minded brands with intrinsic links to Aussie culture and a shared commitment to the wellbeing of Australians”.

Qantas flight attendant Kristina Veskovic with a surf life saver at Tamarama Beach.

Ms Hudson said they were incredibly proud to partner with Surf Life Saving Australia, which “shared Qantas’ commitment to safety”.

“SLSA is an organisation that has been safeguarding our beaches for over a century,” she said.

“Safety is fundamental to us as the national carrier, and this partnership underscores our dedication to upholding the highest safety standards for Australians and visitors, whether on the ground or in the air.”

She said their mutual goal was for the beach passport to become a regular tool for all beachgoers for years to come.

Surf Life Saving Australia CEO Adam Weir said education was the key to improving water safety, but they could not do that without the support of like-minded organisations.

“There is a need for greater community education around hazard identification and water safety, particularly in the lead up to summer, and we’re thrilled we can start to close this gap through our new partnership with Qantas and the new beach passport,” said Mr Weir.

Qantas was expected to announce a number of other new partnerships before the end of the year as the airline strives to rebuild its brand after a damaging few years.

Excessive cost-cutting and redundancies meant Qantas struggled to deliver the services customers expected in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, at the same time as airfares soared.

Ms Hudson has endeavoured to address some of the issues with an additional $230m being invested in “customer” but market research company Roy Morgan recently named Virgin Australia as the most trusted travel and tourism brand in 2024, ahead of Singapore Airlines and Flight Centre.

Domestic airfares data published by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics showed prices in economy and business class were well up on a year ago.

Fully flexible economy fares were up 10 per cent on November last year, and business class was 5 per cent more expensive.

However, the cheapest economy fares were 7 per cent lower, as a result of capacity increases by Jetstar, forcing Virgin to compete on price.

Originally published as Surf lifesavers team up with Qantas as brand rebuild focuses on strong safety record