Qantas moves domestic economy bar service forward to noon on all flights

The embattled airline will now offer free beer and wine to all customers travelling within Australia from a new time, as it also launches baggage tracking.

Happy hour will kick off earlier at Qantas as the embattled airline expands its domestic bar service as part of the latest measure designed to improve the onboard experience for customers following a difficult period.

Travellers in economy class from now on will enjoy complimentary beer and wine onboard all Qantas and QantasLink flights departing after midday.

Previously, bar service on domestic flights commenced from 4.00pm, but Qantas said that for the first time in its history, alcoholic drinks will be made available on an ongoing basis from the earlier time.

Customers will be able to choose from a selection of Australian red or white wine and One Fifty Lashes Premium Pale Ale.

The move will bring economy class into line with travellers in business class, which already enjoy a bar service at the earlier time.

It comes after Qantas made changes to its domestic economy menu last year to offer more variety and catering to several dietary requirements, including a vegetarian option for all meals.

Flights over 2.5 hours will continue to offer free beer and wine from 9am.

Qantas has not altered its policy in offering beer and wine to passengers travelling on domestic flights that are more than two and a half hours in duration.

Loyalty expert and founder of The Champagne Mile Adele Eliseo said that frequent flyers would welcome the shift to open the bar up earlier and it would help Qantas to differentiate its offering from other airlines.

“Opening up Qantas bar service earlier might seem like a small change, however it has the potential to ‘surprise and delight’ a significant number of the airline’s domestic economy travellers each and every day,” she said.

“This move will be especially welcomed by travellers who are willing to pay a premium to receive a full service domestic economy experience.”

The national airline has faced a horrid run headlined by the earlier exit of its former chief executive Alan Joyce after it was accused by the ACCC of selling flights that had already been cancelled and the High Court ruling it acted unlawfully when it outsourced the jobs of almost 1700 employees.

Last month, almost 83 per cent of shareholders voted against Qantas’ remuneration report at its annual general meeting in Melbourne on Friday.

The airline’s new CEO Vanessa Hudson has pledged to eliminate poor customer service and easing pain points, such as making it easier to transfer points of a deceased family member.

Qantas has also started baggage tracking through its Apple and Android apps which allow for travellers to track the location of their baggage when travelling between ten Australian Domestic airports: Adelaide, Alice Springs, Brisbane, Cairns, Canberra, Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Townsville.

Ms Eliseo said that in addition to bag tracking helping to eliminate a key pain point for travellers, she questioned whether the next logical step to improve passenger experience would be the return of complimentary newspapers at the gate.