Qantas increases price on booking changes

The national carrier has quietly bumped up the fee of changing or cancelling bookings for domestic flights.

Qantas has quietly bumped up the fee for changing or cancelling bookings for domestic flights.

The cost of amending a flight including changing the name on the booking or just cancelling it all together has increased by $20.

It will go from $99 to $119 from October 9 for a range of fare types.

The national carrier uploaded a FAQ last Friday, addressing the fee change.

It explained passengers who hold a ‘Red eDeal’ economy ticket and want to make a change will be affected along with ‘Flex’ flights’ and all changes and cancellations for premium economy ‘Saver’ tickets.

Domestic passengers who plan to make any changes or cancellations to an economy Red eDeal or Flex ticket or Premium Economy Saver ticket will have to pay the new fee of $119 – up $20 – from October 9. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

Passengers with group tickets will also be affected and tickets acquired through Qantas Business Rewards. Other fare conditions remain will the same.

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

The last time Qantas made a change to the fee was back in 2017.

Those who purchased a flight prior to October 9 and make a change, will be subject to the $99 charge, even after the change is introduced.

“For example, a Red eDeal ticket issued on 8 October 2024 and changed on 9 October 2024, the change fee applicable is $99.00 which was the change fee applicable on the date of original ticket issue. Any subsequent reissues of the ticket on/after 9 October 2024 will attract the revised $119.00 change fee.”

Qantas made the change just before releasing its annual and sustainability reports on Thursday that outlined its focus on improving customer trust following its $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.

“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.”