Qantas will discontinue its Chauffeur Drive service for Business and First class passengers flying between Australia and London.
Complimentary airport transfers will no longer be offered in Australia, nor in London, for new bookings made on or after 15 April 2020. Eligible existing bookings for travel until 30 April 2021 will still be eligible to receive the Chauffeur Drive service.
If you have an upcoming Qantas flight booking to/from London in Business or First class, you can still book an airport pick-up until 15 April. Existing bookings won’t be impacted, however you may be unable to re-book the chauffeur service at a later time if your flight ends up getting changed or cancelled amid the COVID-19 travel restrictions.
The announcement comes just days after Qantas temporarily suspended all international flights, including its daily Melbourne-Perth-London and Sydney-Singapore-London flights.
Qantas began offering the Chauffeur Drive service to Business and First class passengers on long-haul international flights when it commenced its partnership with Emirates in 2013. This brought Qantas in line with Emirates, which has offered this service for years. But over the years, Qantas has slowly scaled back the service. Since March 2019, only passengers travelling between Australia and London have been eligible anyway.
Emirates continues to offer the Chauffeur Drive service, however it is no longer offered to passengers travelling on award tickets booked using Emirates Skywards miles or Qantas Frequent Flyer points. It is only available with paid long-haul flights operated and marketed by Emirates. As a result of the latest Qantas changes, Qantas codeshare flights operated by Emirates are also no longer eligible for the chauffeur service.
In an email sent to customers, Qantas said “when our international flying schedule resumes, first and business class passengers will still have access to a premium flying experience with luxury lounges and onboard experiences”.
However, this premium flying experience no longer includes access to the American Airlines arrivals lounge at London Heathrow Airport, which Qantas withdrew access to in January 2020.
Join the discussion on the Australian Frequent Flyer forum: Discontinuation of Qantas Chauffeur Drive Service
