Jake Nelson

The Flying Kangaroo has taken out a combination of radio and full-page newspaper ads as it pushes customers to use around $400 million in unclaimed credits accrued during the COVID-19 shutdowns, and says more than $1 billion in credits has already been claimed across Qantas and Jetstar.

The intervention comes amid a row over whether or not Airservices has enough employees to run the network following hundreds of occasions over the last year where it has effectively shut down a significant portion of airspace.

The low-cost carrier is undergoing what it says is one of its biggest-ever pilot intakes, which will support new routes including Sydney to Rarotonga, Brisbane to Seoul and Melbourne to Fiji, as well as its push to improve reliability.

The group boarding procedure trials will see Qantas passengers board aircraft based on where they are seated, with group numbers printed on boarding passes, while premium customers will retain their own dedicated boarding lane.

The airport’s first international flight since the pandemic, Fiji Airways flight FJ950, left Canberra on board the 737 MAX 8 DQ-FAF at 2:39pm on Friday. Two return services per week will operate between Canberra and Nadi on Tuesdays and Fridays, with Sunday flights to be added from October.

The AIPA is arguing that Qantas second officers who are passed over for the A380 in favour of pilots from outside the company should be compensated, while Qantas says the pilots’ union has “unreasonably” withheld its agreement to sourcing external A380 pilots.