Qantas to pay for US passports when travelling from US to AUS

[SeatBackForward]

Your passport's on us I Qantas US

We'll take $135 off your ticket
Right now, when you book your flights to Australia with Qantas, we'll cover the cost of your new passport.* That's $135 off your booking, per person, on all eligible flights. Why?

Because we heard quite a few people don’t have a valid US passport. And since we're not your typical airline, we'd like to do something about that. Don't worry if you already have one, you can still enjoy the discount! Consider it a contribution towards your next one.

Note: A visa is also required for entering Australia when holding a US Passport. Learn more.​

 

[jb747]

Apparently only about 35% of US citizens have passports...about half the percentage of Australians.

 

[davidj]

There are 120 million Chinese passport holders, being about ~9% of the population. When do they get free passports, because it seems they would be in greater need than the US?

 

[moa999]

So it's basically a US$135 discount for booking direct, and not using a travel agent (and associated commissions)

 

[justinbrett]

There are 120 million Chinese passport holders, being about ~9% of the population. When do they get free passports, because it seems they would be in greater need than the US?

We don’t seem to have any trouble attracting that market

 

[Simo]

Wonder if it will get bums on seats!!!!

Something a bit different for a airline...

I would expect something like this type of advertising from Virgin

 

[davidj]

We don’t seem to have any trouble attracting that market

When did we have trouble attracting US visitors? They currently ranked #3 visitor to the AU, with ~11% year on year growth. China and NZ and ranked 2 and 1 respectively.

Playing devils advocate here - the "covering the cost of a passport" is just marketing fluff, albeit a smart one.

When will domestic carriers offer 'cover the the cost of airport parking' or 'covering the cost of an airport taxi' as part of their sales?

 

[justinbrett]

When did we have trouble attracting US visitors? They currently ranked #3 visitor to the AU, with ~11% year on year growth. China and NZ and ranked 2 and 1 respectively.

Playing devils advocate here - the "covering the cost of a passport" is just marketing fluff, albeit a smart one.

When will domestic carriers offer 'cover the the cost of airport parking' or 'covering the cost of an airport taxi' as part of their sales?

That may be so - but US visitors are worth a lot more to Qantas.

Most Chinese visitors arrive by other carriers.

 

[Dr Ralph]

There are 120 million Chinese passport holders, being about ~9% of the population. When do they get free passports, because it seems they would be in greater need than the US?

Never is my guess.

 

[Simo]

When did we have trouble attracting US visitors? They currently ranked #3 visitor to the AU, with ~11% year on year growth. China and NZ and ranked 2 and 1 respectively.

Playing devils advocate here - the "covering the cost of a passport" is just marketing fluff, albeit a smart one.

When will domestic carriers offer 'cover the the cost of airport parking' or 'covering the cost of an airport taxi' as part of their sales?

My taxi fare is a lot of the times more than my airfare anyway as I live over 100km from the airport