Qantas, Virgin Australia 'neck and neck' for Aussie travellers

Qantas remains Australia's airline of international travel but is now running 'neck and neck' with Virgin Australia for domestic flights.

That's the word according to Emma – also known as Enhanced Media Metrics Australia, whose "audience insights survey" into airlines was released this morning.

The report says that 25% of Australians choose Qantas for international travel, with the Flying Kangaroo's partner Emirates slotting in at 12%, followed by Jetstar (11%) and Singapore Airlines (10%).

Qantas and Virgin Australia were tied in the domestic market, however, "with 33% of respondents flying either carrier in the past year" and 31% flying with Jetstar.

Emma notes that 20% of people claimed Qantas was their primary airline, compared to 17% for Virgin Australia and 16% for Jetstar.

"Qantas beats rivals Virgin and Jetstar in terms of usage, but only just" says Simon Wake, Managing Director of Emma's research parent company Ipsos MediaCT.

Qantas was also the most highly regarded airline for safety and service.

According to the report, "Qantas’s prevailing reputation for safety sees it rank far head of its competitors as ‘safe to fly with’ at 54%. Singapore Airlines followed at 39% then Emirates at 33%".

In terms of international travel, the report found Emirates, Air New Zealand, Singapore Airlines and Qantas have a higher proportion of flyers aged 45-64.

At the same time Etihad’s flyer profile skews higher with the younger age group of 14-29 and the 65+ group.

Qantas rated the highest among the international airlines at 39% for high quality products and services, ahead of Singapore Airlines (33%) and Emirates (30%).

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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.