How greedy airlines are raining on the cruise parade with air fare price and reward hikes

  • Australia has been experiencing increases in flight delays and fare increases
  • This complicates life for domestic cruisers who could miss the departure of their cruise if their flight is delayed
  • Now Qantas has increased the number of reward points needed for domestic flights effectively raising prices again

Cruise lines are predicting 2025 will be a stellar year despite the cost of living crisis, and luxury cruise lines are convinced their sector will grow more than ever.

But there is a cloud on the horizon: air travel is becoming more expensive both at home and abroad as air fares go up. Even those carefully cherished Qantas points will get you less air miles.

Due to the majority of major cruise lines in Australia centralising their homeporting to Sydney and Brisbane, more and more cruisers are having to fly before and after their cruise. This is far from ideal in the current climate where flight delays are becoming common place and Qantas is making unfavourable tweaks to its rewards programs. 

Cruisers from Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and other cities around Australia used to enjoy more cruises from their doorsteps, but instead are now contending with the tricky state of airline travel in Australia.

For cruise passengers, flight delays can have much more grave consequences than other forms of travel, as flight delays can of course meaning missing your cruise, rather than just having a few hours shaved off your holiday. 

This is bound to create issues given that more than 25% of flights operated by major Australian airlines last year arrived late to their destinations. 

Making matters worse for Aussie cruisers is that these numbers are boosted by international performance, with domestic flights underperforming. Last November, just 68.4% of domestic Australian flights by Australian airlines arrived on time, with some lines like Virgin as low as 62.7%. 

Furthermore, cancellations were at 3.7%, nearly double Australia’s long term average. 

A family made headlines last week when their flight to Brisbane was delayed seven hours and lead to around 12 people missing their cruise to New Zealand.

The general advice from travel agents and long-time cruisers is to always book your flight the day before your cruise, and it is sound advice. However, this isn’t always possible or convenient for cruisers, as flying in the day before means budgeting for at least a night in a hotel, more meals, extra transport and more.

Furthermore, Qantas frequent flyer members are taking a hit as well. Qantas recently announced an increase the number of frequent flyer points required for Classic Rewards and Classic Upgrades. 

Many routes have increased between 5 and 20% in the number of points required. These include crucial domestic routes such as in between Sydney and Melbourne, and between Sydney and Perth. These are two routes that will become crucial for domestic cruisers, as homeported cruises decrease out of Perth and Melbourne. 

However, the full set of revised rates won’t be published until May, but it’s expected that other domestic routes will see rises as well. 

The increases will only kick in from August this year, meaning cruisers who use frequent flyer points should try to book their flights and cruises before that day. 

Qantas Loyalty CEO Andre Glance said: “A lot has changed in the last six years.

“These adjustments will ensure we can continue to invest in enhancing the program for the long-term and continue to grow the levels of Classic and Classic Plus Reward seat availability for members year on year.”

Increasing flight delays and shifting loyalty programs only serve to complicated Australia’s cruise climate.

2 thoughts on “How greedy airlines are raining on the cruise parade with air fare price and reward hikes”

  1. Typical QANTAS

    Talk about further trashing of a once loved and respected Australian icon

  2. Definitely time a crunch was put on Qantas. They obviously do not want general domestic market as they are fobbing it all off to Jetstar. Not a great alternative.
    Also what they offer to cattle class is an insult. Most self respecting dogs would not eat some of the so called meals that are provided on some flights.
    Unfortunately governments have been propping up Qantas for a long time since, a certain prime minister ensured the death of Ansett.

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