Qantas has removed the $99 change fee for bookings made through its discounted fares program.
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Qantas said it would provide residents living in regional Australia including Mount Isa and Cloncurry with greater flexibility and additional savings if their travel plans change.
Qantas launched the discounted fares program in November 2017 in response to community concerns about the high cost of regional travel and residents can access discounts of 20 to 30 per cent off return fares.
Qantas said 18,000 return trips have been booked by residents across the 14 regional cities eligible for the program including Alice Springs and Longreach and Qantas Domestic CEO Andrew David said the removal of the flight change fee would make the fares more accessible.
"We recognise that some residents have been reluctant to book these fares in circumstances where they didn't have a firm return date." Mr David said.
"By removing the flight change fee, we're eliminating this obstacle and giving customers the flexibility to change their flights at a reduced cost if their travel plans change."
Mr David said there had been a strong uptake of the scheme.
"We'd like to make it easier for even more residents to take advantage of the savings available and expect this change will give them the confidence to do so," he said.
"There are some fundamental realities about the costs of operating regional services that we can't change, but we'll continue to listen and respond to community feedback."
The removal of the change fee is effective for all new return bookings made through the resident fares portal or through local travel agents.
Residents who wish to change their flight may need to pay the difference between the fare for the new booking and the original fare.
For full terms and conditions and to book, visit www.qantas.com/residentfares.
The discounts are available for personal travel to individuals who reside in Mount Isa and Cloncurry for return travel to Brisbane and Townsville.
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