Australia’s PM Albanese defends free Qantas flight upgrades

SYDNEY – Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is under pressure to explain his relationship with Qantas Airways after allegations he received more than a dozen free flight upgrades, soliciting at least some of them directly from the airline’s ex-boss Alan Joyce.

In his past parliamentary portfolios as transport minister and opposition transport spokesman, and sometimes on private trips, Mr Albanese accepted gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from Qantas, according to a new book by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston. 

In some cases, Mr Albanese did not specify in his parliamentary declarations whether he was upgraded to first or business class, making it impossible to determine the precise value of the benefit, Mr Aston wrote.

Mr Aston cited Qantas insiders as saying Mr Albanese would communicate about his personal travel directly with Mr Joyce, the former Qantas chief executive who stepped down prematurely in 2023 after a series of corporate missteps.

Mr Aston’s book, The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story Of How Qantas Sold Us Out, was released on Oct 28.

Responding to the allegations, Mr Albanese said: “From time to time, Members of Parliament receive upgrades. What’s important is that they are declared. All of mine have been declared.”

The Prime Minister said he had the same relationship with Mr Joyce as he did with the head of rival airline Virgin Australia, according to a transcript sent by his office of comments made to reporters.

The flight upgrades, even declared, create at least a perceived conflict of interest regarding the independence of Mr Albanese’s decisions at a time when Qantas was at the heart of his policy responsibilities in transport, Mr Aston wrote. 

Mr Aston also wrote that shortly after Mr Albanese became prime minister in 2022, he asked Mr Joyce to make his son a member of the airline’s exclusive Chairman’s Lounge, which offers invitation-only access to luxury pre-flight Qantas facilities and services.

In an interview, Mr Aston said he’d like to see checks and balances introduced to oversee the way the Chairman’s Lounge operates, particularly when it comes to those working inside government.

“I have no issues with private companies contracting with each other on whatever terms that they find mutually beneficial,” Mr Aston said.

“But public officials are a different thing altogether. If they can’t be trusted to follow policy, then I think they should be banned from the Chairman’s Lounge.”

Speaking on Oct 27, Mr Albanese said he had asked for his son to be given access to the Chairman’s Lounge in place of a partner, adding that following the end of his first marriage, “my plus one became my son”.

“That is all that happened, simple as that,” he said.

Mr Albanese’s centre-left Labor government in 2023 blocked more Qatar Airways flights into Australia at a time of rapidly rising airfares, a decision that was supported by Qantas.

Australia is due to hold a national election by May 2025. BLOOMBERG