--- title: "Australia prime minister defends free Qantas flight upgrades" description: "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 ex-boss Alan Joyce." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Business Maverick" author: "Bloomberg" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/bloomberg/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-10-28-australia-prime-minister-defends-free-qantas-flight-upgrades/" published: "2024-10-28T05:46:28" updated: "2024-10-28T05:46:30" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 479 --- # Australia prime minister defends free Qantas flight upgrades > 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 ex-boss Alan Joyce. By Bloomberg · Published 28 October 2024, 07:46 SAST · Updated 28 October 2024, 07:46 SAST ## Key points - In a tale as turbulent as a Qantas flight, Prime Minister Albanese finds himself in hot water after a new book reveals he accepted lavish gifts from the airline, raising eyebrows and questions about whether his upgrades were just a touch too first-class for a public servant. - Albanese faces scrutiny over accepting tens of thousands in gifts from Qantas during his time as transport minister, as revealed in Joe Aston's new book. - The Prime Minister's failure to specify flight upgrades raises questions about potential conflicts of interest amid Qantas's operational oversight. - Aston claims Albanese directly solicited upgrades from former Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, undermining the integrity of his parliamentary declarations. - Albanese's request for his son to join Qantas's exclusive Chairman’s Lounge adds another layer of controversy, prompting calls for stricter oversight of corporate relationships with public officials. ## Content In his past parliamentary portfolios as transport minister and opposition transport spokesman, and sometimes on private trips, Albanese accepted gifts worth tens of thousands of dollars from Qantas, according to a [new book](https://www.smh.com.au/national/the-gravy-plane-how-alan-joyce-cultivated-a-pm-and-ruled-the-skies-20240820-p5k3pj.html) by former Australian Financial Review columnist Joe Aston. In some cases, Albanese didn’t 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, Aston wrote. Aston cited Qantas insiders as saying Albanese would communicate about his personal travel directly with Joyce, the former Qantas chief executive officer who stepped down prematurely last year after a series of corporate missteps. Aston’s book, [The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out](https://www.amazon.com.au/Chairmans-Lounge-inside-story-Qantas/dp/1761429760/ref=sr_1_5?crid=3KHT4BBXSQX6I&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.cPI5oK3JDpnzx7xYyQpTc_UW_BhKcswDhUkx3O_6qlrZVGHA4wiW66Sh9W3X3jCFYwQAiym6XedaKZs2bWcqi2qiHCUe9J7dMAVCyheBFX40XqQvdD8JRXmMVbzLf9XnspUpJh2FlaagSvLMowMCm0zeYQBYhbg_z0aP3wUonpH5eV8zyz_nNXbduukoA0XbEmDSq4OcBY85SUNb9dgybtQIOaSR529aa9J3i_VLg-jH7VKxfTnIn96TAVamF9oHulijVzdZue3fy8SGmfBCytb2fbQOm91Jye5_a_FjXoM.DJctAbgo2JNKU_vbYF-9Ywc5ORVUisO91aA6g0eaqnc&dib_tag=se&keywords=chairman%27s+lounge&qid=1730071238&sprefix=cjairman%27s+lounge+%2Caps%2C298&sr=8-5), was released on Monday. Responding to the allegations, 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 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 Albanese’s decisions at a time when Qantas was at the heart of his policy responsibilities in transport, Aston wrote. “Just because you declare them, it doesn’t make them acceptable,” Aston said in an interview after Albanese’s comments. “Albanese solicited these upgrades directly from Joyce. No one more junior. Not through any other indirect channels.” Aston also wrote in his book that shortly after Albanese became prime minister in 2022, he asked Joyce to make [his son a member of the airline’s exclusive Chairman’s Lounge](https://www.afr.com/rear-window/alan-joyce-puts-albo-s-son-in-qantas-chairman-s-lounge-20230802-p5dtf3), which offers invitation-only access to luxury pre-flight Qantas facilities and services. In the interview, 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 the government. “I have no issues with private companies contracting with each other on whatever terms that they find mutually beneficial,” 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 Sunday, 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. Albanese’s centre-left Labor government last year blocked more Qatar Airways flights into Australia at a time of rapidly rising airfares, a decision that was supported by Qantas. Read More: [Virgin Australia Blindsided by Government Block on Qatar Flights](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-27/virgin-australia-blindsided-by-government-block-on-qatar-flights) Australia is due to hold a national election by May 2025.