Christmas comes early at Qantas with beers and wine from noon

If you’d much rather enjoy your lunch with a glass of red, then Qantas’ latest announcement is sure to please. The airline will now open its onboard bar carts on flights departing from midday, every day, across all domestic and regional flights in Economy. Qantas is the only airline that includes alcoholic beverages in domestic Economy fares.

Passengers can enjoy a complimentary selection of premium Australian wines or beer (One Fifty Lashes Pale Ale) with lunch or their afternoon snacks. The Qantas website indicates that wine and beer will also be stocked on flights departing from 9:00am if the journey time is longer than 2.5 hours. Previously, wine-o’clock started at 4pm, so you won’t find us complaining.

This change doesn’t affect international or trans-Tasman flights, which already offer a full range of beverages in Economy no matter the time of day.

Double Qantas Points on ‘Dasher-8’ and ‘Roo-dolph’

The Red Roo is also injecting some Christmas flair into flying with two aircraft undergoing a festive-themed makeover. A QantasLink Q400 ‘Dasher-8’ and a Boeing 737 ‘Roo-dolph’ will soar across Australia in December.

Apart from festive boarding music and other holiday touches onboard, passengers who fly on either of the two aircraft before 31 December 2023 will receive double Qantas Points.

If you’re interested in assessing your chances, the registration of Dasher-8 is VH-QOW. The turbo-prop is primarily based in regional Queensland, visiting destinations such as Emerald, Longreach and Rockhampton.

If you haven’t redeemed a Qantas COVID credit, you can still earn double points on your next booking by registering for this promotion and booking an eligible flight by 31 December 2023. But if you have no plans to use the credit, fret not. Qantas will now fully refund any COVID credit, including after 31 December 2023.