Change in the wind at Qantas and Jetstar as airline group strives to rebuild trust

The under fire airline has made a key change to its website to make it easier to find classic reward seats, as partner Jetstar revamps its uniform.

Jetstar’s smart new look for frontline workers, designed by Genevieve Smart (centre). Picture: Supplied

Qantas has made a key change to its website to address confusion over classic reward seats versus points plus pay redemptions, as low fares partner Jetstar unveiled a new uniform.

The points plus pay pricing that used to appear first when frequent flyers searched for flight redemptions, created the impression Qantas had substantially upped the number of points required for reward seats, when that was not the case.

To overcome the confusion, the search function on Qantas.com had now been optimised to allow people to search and select classic flight rewards with a single click.

Frequent flyer expert Adele Eliseo of the Champagne Mile, said a “rewards” toggle had replaced the “points” toggle on the first search screen.

“Selecting this will bring up classic flight rewards (where available) with ‘points plus pay’ options relegated to the payment screen,” Ms Eliseo said.

“Previously, points plus pay pricing displayed as the default option when selecting flights to book with points.”

Qantas has overhauled its website to make it easier to find classic reward seats.

Ms Eliseo said the change would help prevent inexperienced frequent flyers from forking out hundreds of thousands of points for a flight, in the mistaken belief points pricing had increased.

There was still another change to the Qantas frequent flyer program to be announced in coming weeks, that promised to address the issue of hard-to-get reward seats in premium cabins on international routes.

At the same time, Jetstar revealed a new look for the carrier’s 5000 pilots, cabin crew and airport staff designed by Australia’s Genevieve Smart.

Jetstar’s new look for cabin crew, pilots and airport workers. Picture: Supplied

Jetstar chief executive Stephanie Tully said the uniform represented the beginning of a “new era for the airline, its people and customers”.

“We’ve listened to our people and together wanted to create a uniform that reflects how far we have come as we move into our third decade of operation,” she said.

“With the help of Genevieve Smart, the newly designed collection caters to everyone and gives our crew more freedom to choose what they would like to wear.”

Ms Smart said she drew inspiration for the designed from the sunset seen out of an aircraft window.

“Embarking on the creative journey to design uniforms for Jetstar was a fabulous adventure that began with a deep dive into the airline’s vision and core themes of fun, unity, holidays and affordable travel,” said Ms Smart.

“We focused on the anticipation of the destination, the excitement of looking at a map, dreaming about the possibilities and the thrill of arriving at a chosen destination.”

As a result, the colours had “evolved from black to a dynamic blue and orange palette” with a range of pieces including a shirt dress, neck scarf, polos, trousers and overcoats.

Cabin crew manager Kat Vass said her team could not wait to wear the new uniforms through airport terminals and on-board.

“We have worked on developing our new uniforms for some time now, testing them extensively both on the ground and in the air,” said Ms Vass.

“The new uniforms are professional, comfortable and designed with so much care and thought.”