Qantas has said that for all resident fares booked from May 1, the discount on the Qantas-controlled component of return Red eDeal fares will double from 10 to 20 per cent. 

In a statement Qantas said they wanted to encourage as many residents as possible to access these discounted fares.

“We’ve always said we would review the program during the trial period,” Qantas said.

“Our data shows the majority of residents are purchasing our lead-in fares and booking in advance, so we’re doubling the discounts for these fares so that the majority of residents can access a discount of at least 20 per cent every time they fly.”

However the discounts only apply to tickets purchased from May 1 so if you’ve already bought a ticket in advance, then you miss out.

The discounts were introduced last November as part of a twelve-month trial available in nine regional airports in Queensland and WA where Qantas said “residents are competing with a very high volume of corporate travel, specifically from the resource industry”.

Qantas said discounts will continue to vary depending on the type of fare purchased with up to 30 per cent discount which is only available on the most flexible and highest fare. 

All other booking conditions remain unchanged and to access the discounts, residents need to be a member of the Qantas Frequent Flyer program (free to join), book a return flight for personal travel, up to a limit of four return flights a year for each resident.

To book, visit qantas.com/residentfares.