Qantas defends difficulty in finding Classic Rewards seats, as frequent flyers speak out

Qantas frequent flyers question whether the airline is withholding Classic Reward seats as none are available in business class on flights to London and Paris in 2025.

Qantas frequent flyers say they’re dismayed to discover a complete absence of premium Classic Reward seats on popular routes such as Sydney-London and Paris in 2025, following last year’s introduction of Classic Plus.

Intended to help more frequent flyers redeem their points on the seats and routes they most wanted, the Classic Plus product represented a different value proposition to Classic Rewards, as a lot more points were needed for seat redemptions.

At the time, the new product was cautiously welcomed by frequent flyer experts despite concerns Qantas might adjust the spread of Classic Rewards seats in response.

Steve Hui of iflyflat.com.au said that would appear to be the case, as frequent flyers are unable to book a single Classic Rewards seat in business class on Sydney-London or Melbourne-London for the whole of 2025.

The same was true of Sydney-Paris and Perth-London which Mr Hui said was a “major let-down” for frequent flyers hoping to make the best use of their points.

There were limited seats in economy available on those routes for later in the year, which suggested the Classic Rewards’ product had been loaded into the system.

“This is the first time in 12 years I’ve seen this occur,” Mr Hui said.

“It raises serious concerns about the value of collecting Qantas points if this is the start of what frequent flyers can expect in the future.”

He said a business class Classic Rewards seat on a route such as Melbourne to London, should “cost” 144,600 Qantas points plus taxes.

Instead loyalty program members faced shelling out between 450,000 and 650,000 points for a business class seat.

Qantas business class seats on flights to London and Paris are almost impossible to find as Classic Reward redemptions.

Adele Eliseo of the Champagne Mile said there was less availability of Classic Rewards seats on popular long-haul routes and in premium cabins, but more availability in Classic Plus.

“It’s fair to say there are some highly desirable rewards seats available but I think, on routes into Europe and London in particular, it’s not uncommon to be scrolling for months and months through the Qantas website and not see one business class or premium cabin reward seat at all,” Ms Eliseo said.

“I understand that Classic Plus is an accessible redemption type for people but it does take away some of that excitement from the highly valuable rewards you could be getting with your points.”

A Qantas spokesman said Classic Rewards seats offered significant value, which was why they were so popular and sold out quickly upon release.

“Our members booked record numbers of international Classic seats in the 2024 financial year,” the spokesman said.

He said more than five million Classic Rewards seats continued to be offered across Qantas’ international and domestic network, and with 45 partner airlines.

“In October we launched a partnership with Oman Air, which has an expansive network flying to places like London, Paris and Milan,” the spokesman said.

“Since bookings went live in October, 80 per cent of bookings are for travel in their business cabin.”

He pointed out there were still business class seats to London available for redemption as Classic Rewards with partner Cathay Pacific in January, and with American Airlines via Los Angeles in February.

Ms Eliseo said it would be good to know if the routes where Qantas was releasing Classic Rewards seats had changed over time to include more opportunities for domestic travellers, and fewer for international.

“There is a feeling among savvy frequent flyers there are less redemption availabilities on those desirable routes,” she said.

Mr Hui said he hoped Qantas would rectify the situation in the face of greater competition from Qatar Airways through its partnership with Virgin Australia.

“People are watching closely, because they want their points to mean something,” he said.

“Otherwise it’s unfair to encourage loyalty and the collection of points on that promise of travel.”

Originally published as Qantas defends difficulty in finding Classic Rewards seats, as frequent flyers speak out