Qantas is extending its carbon offset programme to bookings made via its NDC channel, a ‘first’ for any airline, the carrier said today.
Travel agencies making bookings through its NDC-enabled Qantas Distribution Platform can now access the airline’s Fly Carbon Neutral feature, which was previously only available for bookings made on the qantas.com site. The carrier said that around one in ten passengers currently choose to pay to offset their carbon emissions.
Qantas' executive manager sales & distribution, Igor Kwiatkowski, said, “Many of our customers have told us how important it is for them to be able to offset their flight, and until now, those who booked through a travel agent weren’t able to do so conveniently.
“We’re very conscious of working to minimise the impact we have on the environment. This development is part of that sustainability strategy, while also delivering on our commitment to better support the industry in selling and servicing their bookings with Qantas.
“This is the first of a range of new types of offers we’ll be making available to agents as we progress our NDC programme over the coming months, all designed to more closely align the functionality of indirect agent channels with qantas.com.”
The airline said that Qantas Frequent Flyer members and Qantas Business Rewards customers will earn 10 Qantas Points for every dollar spent offsetting their emissions.
The Australian carrier recently said it did not expect international travel to restart until July at the earliest.