Aussies leap at chance to leave, Qantas data reveals

Qantas’ plan to fly internationally from December 18 has triggered a massive rush on flights.

Qantas, led by CEO Alan Joyce, has seen searches of its international flights almost triple over the past week after flagging plans to restart overseas travel from mid-December. Picture: Brent Winstone

Qantas has seen searches of its international flights almost triple in the last week after the airline announced its intention to restart overseas travel from December 18.

Data compiled by the Qantas digital team, showed searches surged a whopping 175 per cent with flights from Sydney and Melbourne to London proving the most popular.

Other flights attracting huge interest included Sydney to Los Angles, Sydney to Singapore and Sydney to Tokyo, with most people looking to getaway as soon as borders reopen.

Qantas international chief executive Andrew David said it was clear Australians “could not wait to get back on an aircraft and head overseas again”.

“So many people have missed out on seeing loved ones who live overseas or taking a well-deserved break,” Mr David said.

“While it’s up to government to determine exactly how and when our international borders re-open, Australia is on track to meet the 80 per cent vaccination trigger by December, which means international travel is within reach.”

Mr David’s comments came as Qantas boss Alan Joyce kicked-off a “Let’s get on with the jab” conversation series hosted by the Trans-Tasman Business Circle.

Mr Joyce said as the national carrier, Qantas “had an obligation to try and lead the national dialogue” through mandating vaccination for its own staff as well as widely promoting the jab.

“(To that end) we came out with this great, amazing, emotive ad to try and get people to see some positive reasons to get vaccinated – the trip to see the loved ones overseas, the holiday with the kids overseas – and it was amazing,” Mr Joyce said.

“The Prime Minister even posted the ad, it got an amazing reaction to it and I think the emotional reaction shows that people do want to see light at the end of the tunnel. They want to have hope, they want to see a way through this.”

Since the ad was released late last month, more than 300,000 people had uploaded their vaccination certification to the Qantas app, in return for a “reward” of frequent flyer points, status credits or a $20 discount on their next flight.

As a result, Qantas had given away 220 million points, making the “rewards for vaccination” the airline’s biggest ever promotion.

But Mr Joyce conceded that the goal of having domestic and international borders open by December when 80 per cent of the population was vaccinated, was dependent on a unified approach by governments.

West Australian Premier Mark McGowan and Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk have both talked down the likelihood of opening up while high numbers of Covid cases persisted interstate.

“We might get into a situation where from Sydney you can visit your relatives in London, maybe Dublin, but you can’t visit your relatives in Perth or maybe Cairns and that would be sad if we got to that,” Mr Joyce said.

“Hopefully we’ll get everybody to keep with the national cabinet plan which will mean everybody can get together at Christmas, domestically and internationally.”

He also shared the “words for success” borrowed from former US president Theodore Roosevelt, that had helped the airline get through the Covid crisis.

Mr Joyce said the famous quote was particularly relevant to his network team that set-up more than 40 new routes in the last year to try to keep Qantas flying.

“(I told them) the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing you can do is the wrong thing and the worst thing you can do is nothing,” Mr Joyce said.

“I think that has to be the mantra and if it isn’t working, you quickly admit it isn’t working and you fix it and move on. I think people that just get into inaction are the companies that don’t survive and the businesses that won’t get through this.”