Which Aussie airports will miss out on Qantas Next-Generation Check-in?

Qantas passengers in Sydney and Perth can already check in and board a domestic flight with a swipe of their smartchip-equipped Q Card. Melbourne's frequent flyers will get the same smooth experience in early 2011, followed by Adelaide, Brisbane and Canberra by mid-year.

But what about Hobart, Darwin, Cairns and Qantas' other Australian airports?

According to a Qantas spokeswoman, some but not all of these will get the full Next-Generation Checkin system.

"By the end of 2011, the RFID technology for our Qantas Bag Tags will be introduced across all Qantas domestic airports in Australia" the spokeswoman told Australian Business Traveller, "but not all of them will be equpped with the Q Card readers".

Asked if larger airports such Hobart, Darwin and Cairns would get both parts of the system, the spokeswoman advised that "we're still working through that. Obviously the RFID scanning system has real benefits for passengers and also for Qantas, because it makes it easier for us to track and identify luggage, but not all airports would have the numers of passengers to justify installing Q Card readers."

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.