Qantas Frequent Flyer Introduces A Green Tier For Environmentally Conscious Travelers (Who Pay Up)

Qantas CEO Alan Joyce has announced that their Qantas Frequent Flyer program is going to introduce a Green Tier for environmentally conscious travelers.

The level which will confer certain benefits such as extra tier credits to members based on their contributions to offset the carbon footprint ($$$) their travel leaves is expected to launch sometime in 2022.

Qantas is just one of the very many airlines that are offering passengers to pay money for environmental causes and that claim this investment would offset the carbon produced by the passenger during that particular flight.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports today that Qantas is looking to introduce a Green loyalty tier in the very near future.

Qantas frequent flyers will be awarded loyalty points and “green tier” status if they offset emissions from their flights, cars and homes as part of the airline’s efforts to improve its sustainability credentials.

Amid growing scrutiny of the global aviation industry’s environmental impact, Qantas said on Friday it would be the world’s first airline to reward customers who minimise their carbon footprint in the air and on the ground.

“We do know that points influence behaviour,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said. “Now we think that the green tier will incentivise many of our frequent flyers to be more sustainable, and that’s a great thing.”

About 11 per cent of Qantas customers currently pay a small amount ($1 on a Sydney-Melbourne flight) to offset the emissions from their travel, which goes towards revegetation projects, renewable energy projects and other carbon abatement schemes.

Mr Joyce said on Friday that Qantas was expanding its offset scheme so that customers could pay the airline to counter emissions from their homes and vehicles. It will cost around $200 on average for a family of four with two cars to offset their annual emissions.

“From our research of our customers, we know they believe it’s fundamentally the right thing to do,” he said.

From next year, Qantas loyalty members can also achieve “green tier” status if they offset emissions from flights and home electricity use, install solar panels, or take other steps to reduce their footprint. That will unlock bonus Qantas points and status credits, along with the feel-good recognition of a green digital Qantas loyalty card. …

So what Mr. Joyce is dangling like a carrot in front of QFF members is a scheme where in exchange for an additional payment you earn “green credits” that can be transferred into tier points and miles. Plus you can wave your green card in front of all these evil people who won’t pay up.

This idea that is being followed here is of course entirely ridiculous. It goes without saying that people should try and minimize their negative impact on the environment wherever possible. Recycle your garbage, reduce the use of water and electricity and most of all reduce unnecessary car rides. I live in a dense city so I don’t ride a car. In fact except for three years that I lived in large U.S. cities (Los Angeles and Dallas) I never had a car, but I do love to fly. A lot. Less so during the last two years due to Covid but under normal circumstances I have on average 120 flight segments per year, both long haul and short haul.

Want to reduce your carbon emissions? Good. Don’t fly! Or fly less. But more so than the occasional flight we can do contributions in daily life which is where the effort should really be concentrated. To suddenly try and frame airlines (or allow them to frame themselves) as saviours of the environment is out of touch.

In comparison, a study released by Lund University in 2017 found that having one fewer child equaled a reduction of 58 tonnes of CO2 for each year of a parents’ life. Going car free will reduce your carbon footprint by 2.4 tonnes a year, recycling by 0.21 and hanging clothes out to dry the same. So what would you choose to cut back on? Such discussions often drift into political incorrect territory so let’s not even go there but it’s certainly food for thought.

I checked a flight from Tokyo to Los Angeles in Business Class with a CO2 Calculator:

So by not having (using) a car I can do one more long haul flight in Business Class per year. Now I’m relieved. 🙂

When it comes to flying the case it simple – you’re polluting and it’s probably the best to accept that fact. A feel good contribution to some environmental organization isn’t going to change that. It’s just more opportunity to siphon money off the wallets of consumers by organizations that probably use a lot of this money to pay for administration and big salaries.

Airlines and hotels are trying to push hard for these green initiatives because it’s a good look in the media, very useful for advertising purposes and they can use it as an alibi to say we’re doing “something”. The best way to reduce emissions in air traffic is by overhauling and streamlining air traffic control. Runway queues and holding patterns in the air account for a large portion of the aviation footprint as this MIT study showed is that there’s an enormous potential to really cut down by improving the process.

This idea is by no means new. In fact I believe Lufthansa was planning to start something similar within the next few years but I haven’t heard much more about it after the initial proposal.

Conclusion

Qantas is soon launching the QFF Green Level where travelers can fly, pollute and offset (against payment) their negative impact on the environment. The money will – supposedly – go to “green causes” that will help accomplish that goal.

Nothing has been publicized yet as to how exactly this program will look like or when it’ll go live. Is this going to be a publicity stunt or can flyers really do something meaningful while remaining to be in the air? Are you already participating in some way by paying for environmental projects to offset the carbon your flight produces?