Qantas tops survey as Aussies' favourite airline (1)

More than four in 10 Australians have named Qantas as their favourite airline – but many would shift their loyalty if the airline was ever majority owned by foreign interests.

Wotif questioned almost 15,000 Australian travellers on their airline preferences with 41% naming Qantas as their carrier of choice.

Emirates captured 16%, Virgin Australia 15.7%, Singapore Airlines 13.4%, Jetstar 5%, Air New Zealand 3.2% and Etihad 2%.

But many would potentially change their preference if Qantas was no longer Australian owned.

Just under half – 47%% – said they were most loyal to an Australian airline. Asked if that loyalty would change if the airline was no longer Australia-owned, 56% said it would alter their thinking.

Price was the biggest motivation when choosing both a domestic and international flight, followed by availability on specific dates and the desire for direct flights.

The survey also found that 73% would not book with an airline they had never heard of because of fears over safety, service, reliability and the carrier’s unknown reputation.

More than 76% of those quizzed said they were a member of one or more frequent flyer programs, withy 86% belonging to the Qantas Frequent Flyer scheme. Almost six out of 10 had joined Virgin Australia’s Velocity program and 14.5% signing up with Emirates Skywards.

Wotif Group executive general manager for flights and packages, Helen Demetriou, said while Qantas is the favourite airline, loyalty does wane if the price is right on an alternative carrier.